What's New in the World of Drag Racing - UPDATED: November 29, 2022

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The latest update as of November 28, 2022

Update time at Northern Thunder

It's been an incredibly busy year personally, with a long trip to Eastern Canada and the Maritime provinces using up all of June and a good chunk of July. Then it was "the summer that seemed to never end" at home in Spirit Bay. Nearly four months with almost no rain and long sunny days. That came to a crashing end when the first winter storms hit in late October, just about the time I started a part-time job that's using up several days each week. With December and the Christmas season rapidly approaching, that "part-time" gig is getting busier and leaving me without much "free" time to get things done on the website.

However, today and tomorrow I will be moving all of this year's race reports - 15 in all, to the Features section of the website. Many of the reports are still lacking details to go with the photos and that project will be continuing throughout the winter. The races covered in 2022 started with the PRO Nitro Spring Training test sessions at Phoenix, continuing through three NHRA national events, six Funny Car Chaos races, two NHRA Heritage Series races, two Bandimere Raceway events, plus a Nitro Chaos race. Making all this possible was the "Have Camera, Will Travel" lensman, BIG Bob Snyder, aided by the Colorado "Dime Store Shutterbug" talents of Dale Fackler. Filling in for Snyder at the season finale of the NHRA Heritage Series (the California Hot Rod Reunion), was fellow Vancouver Island resident, Dyan Lover. Many thanks to all of them.

We're already looking ahead to next season, and for the first time in quite a while (the 2017 MOPAR Rocky Mountain Nationals in Edmonton), I will be attending a race - or possibly two - next year. I've got the Flav-R-Pac NHRA Northwest Nationals (Seattle) in late July pencilled in on the calendar, and a trip to my old home track, Mission Raceway Park is a possibility. Sadly, there isn't an NHRA regional or divisional event on the MRP schedule next year. In addition, I'm hoping that Bob Snyder and Dale Fackler will be able to continue providing me with their great images from the Funny Car Chaos, NHRA national and regional races, and Nostalgia events. And of course, we'll be providing stories and updates on this page throughout the year. As I say so often: Stay Tuned!

The latest update as of November 18, 2022

More news on our coverage of the Auto Club NHRA Finals

We've been working on the first qualifying session (Thursday) for the Top Alcohol cars. First up were the Funny Cars, and again, to save on scrolling time, just click here to go directly to the photos and captions. Next up will be the Alcohol Dragsters, tomorrow, as I have more "real world" obligations today.

Saturday Morning Update: The Top Alcohol Dragster first qualifying session photos have been posted. Captions will follow tomorrow. click here to go directly to the dragster pics.

The latest update as of November 17, 2022

Latest news on our coverage of the Auto Club NHRA Finals

Early this morning we received two large batches of photos from our photographer "BIG" Bob Snyder, who's back home resting in El Mirage, AZ. He worked his butt off this year providing some great images from NHRA and Funny Car Chaos races, among others. But the wear and tear took its toll and he was unable to complete his latest mission and missed the final day of eliminations at Pomona.

On the bright side, we have lots of photos from Friday's Top Alcohol qualifying sessions, and the final qualifying session of Pro Stock on Saturday. We'll get the Pro Stock pics up later today and hope to have all the Top Alcohol stuff on the site over the weekend. Still to come: more Friday qualifying action. Stay tuned for that.

To save scrolling time, click here to go directly to the final session of Pro Stock qualifying.

The latest update as of November 15, 2022

Saturday Qualifying Photos

Leading off our Saturday coverage is the third qualifying session for Top Fuel. Friday's two rounds saw all 18 cars on the property make at least one qualifying attempt, but the bump spot going into the final two sessions was a somewhat mediocre 4.422 e.t. However, the top ten cars were in at 3.718, or better, and even the #13 car was in the 3.70's. The non-qualifiers at this point were the "usual suspects" with Cameron Ferre (in the Terry Haddock car), and Steve Chrisman (in the Worsham Family car), sitting on the outside.

TOP FUEL - Qualifying Session #3

(LEFT) Leading off the session was the bubble holder, Maurice "Wicked Mo" DuPont, who was making his return to Top Fuel after a 30-year absence. With some serious backing from ex-Middleweight Boxing Champion Floyd Mayweather Jr., the "Money Team" was looking to make a statement this weekend. There was some good, and some bad for Maurice as he improved slightly to a 4.199 - 231.75, that saw the engine expire with a flash of flames just before the finish line.

(RIGHT) On the other hand, everything worked well for Ron August Jr. as he picked up nearly a quarter second from Friday's best of 4.113 - 269.56. The numbers this time, 3.886 - 315.71, were a career best elapsed time. However, that still left him in the #15 position on the ladder. With roving crew chief Tony Shortall tuning the car, it looks like they're creeping up on a competitive tune-up.

(LEFT) After a year-long layoff, Steve Chrisman shut off very early to a 7-second time on his first pass yesterday, then laid down a career best e.t. and speed run at 3.894 - 311.70. Making it happen for Chrisman were the Worsham Family, with Chuck calling the shots along with lots of help from Del and what appeared to be half the crew from Alexis DeJoria's team.

(RIGHT) Hoping to improve on his early shutoff 3.79 pass on Friday, Alex Laughlin lost traction early in one of the Scott Palmer cars and shut off to a 9-second pass to stay in the #13 spot on the qualifying list.

(LEFT) Improving his e.t. by four thousandths from Friday, Josh Hart picked up two spots on the ladder, to #8, with a great 3.714 - 330.63 effort. Interestingly, his speed dropped from his first session 335.07 number that had to be nearly a career best.

(RIGHT) Following his Friday best of 3.751, Shawn Langdon lost the grip early and clicked it off to a 6-second pass. That dropped him one spot to #12 on the ladder.

With a new ARMY-look camouflage wrap, bannering "A Solider's Child Foundation", driver Tony Schumacher jumped up the list six spots (from #12 to #6) with a great 3.701 - 331.77 effort. It was nearly his quickest pass of the entire season.

(LEFT) Improving just a thousandth from Friday, Antron Brown, was able to move up one spot to #9 with an excellent 3.705-331.04 pass.

(RIGHT) Sporting a "retro" paint scheme commemorating her late father, Bobby Baldwin, third-generation TF racer Krista Baldwin didn't quite match her Friday best with a good 3.874 - 293.92 pass as she shut off a little early/

(LEFT) After his best run of the season in Friday's second qualifier, Doug Kalitta hazed the tires early and shut down to a 4.541 - 164.37 time. That left him in the #5 spot, courtesy of his Friday 3.699 - 328.94 effort.

(RIGHT) Trying to move into the fast half of the field, Clay Millican laid down a very good 3.705 - 331.04 to move into the #8 spot. It was only a one hundredth of a second improvement but it moved him up three notches on the ladder. Tight qualifying show, eh?

(LEFT) Showing that conditions were definitely good enough to run quickly, Mike Salinas ran low e.t. (so far) of the round with a strong 3.673 - 333.91 that slightly improved on his Friday clocking of 3.679. It didn't move him up on the charts, but solidified his hold on the #4 rung on the ladder.

(RIGHT) The four-time defending TF champion, Steve Torrence was still mathematically in the hunt and sitting #2 on the ladder coming into the session, but slipped back a little in performance with a "merely" great 3.704 - 331.61 run.

After running the fastest speed ever recorded in Top Fuel history, Brittany Force was certainly going to have trouble topping that performance, but she gave it a very good shot, lighting up the scoreboards with the quickest and fastest run of the session at 3.664 - 336.99 to show her competitors that the "Monster Energy" team was going all out for the championship.

FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #3

(LEFT) After two forgettable efforts yesterday, Steven Densham pushed the family hot rod into the 3-second zone for the first time this season, and moved from outside the qualified field to the #13 spot with a solid 3.993 - 287.05 pass. Despite shutting off a little early, the e.t. was a season best for the father and son team.

(RIGHT) The ultimate long-distance partnership is featured here, as Canadian Jeff Arend is driving for the Australian duo of Peter & Helen Russo, in a car that's based in the U.S.A. They've only run at three events this year coming into Pomona, but they've been working on a low 4-second tuneup and turned their best numbers of the season yesterday at 4.067 - 306.40 to stake a spot in the field and ran even better in this session with a 4.057 - 313.44, but fell back a spot to #14 on the ladder.

(LEFT) With some much-needed help from the "Sierra Group" (auto dealerships), and a sharp new look, Terry Haddock came out for his second qualifying attempt of the weekend. His one pass on Friday resulted in a "no time recorded" as opponent Steven Densham wiped out the timing blocks and negated Haddock's tire-smoking effort.

(RIGHT) With tire smoke trailing him all the way back to the waterbox, this must be Paul Lee's burnout. The run that followed looked almost identical, with the tires blazing instantly on the launch. The resulting 12-second e.t. didn't compare well to Friday's solid 3.991 - 318.92 #12 qualifying effort.

(LEFT) Coming into the session sitting #9 in the field, Blake Alexander wanted to pick up a little e.t. and move into the fast half of the field. The Jim Head-tuned entry looked good for a few hundred feet before starting to spin the tires, forcing Blake to shut off to a 4.186 - 238.43 clocking.

(RIGHT) After a terrible Friday, with a "best" of 4.897 that left him in the #17 spot, and not qualified, Ron Capps jumped up in a big way, moving all the way up the charts to the #4 spot with a strong 3.864 - 334.15. Still hoping to catch points leader Robert Hight, that run was critical to his team's chances to overtake Hight for the championship.

(LEFT) Following a great pair of Friday performances (3.894 and 3.882), Tim Wilkerson looked to maintain his hold on the seventh spot on the ladder, and came close with a very consistent 3.892 - 331.36 set of numbers. Three straight runs in the 3.80's, and over 330 mph was a great start to his weekend.

(RIGHT) Running alongside Wilkerson, Alexis DeJoria didn't fare quite as well as Wilk, despite being ahead at the 660' mark, as she "slowed" to a 3.913 at "only" 300.20 mph. She managed to hang on to the #8 spot on the list going into the last session.

(LEFT) It's Jason Rupert's burnout shot, but trying to sneak into the frame is his opponent in this round, Robert Hight. Rupert was trying to improve on the 4.159 - 246.84 that he ran on Friday, but the tires started smoking early and he was off the throttle and coasting to a 9-second pass. That left him on the bump spot going into the final qualifying session.

(RIGHT) Coming on strong after back-to-back semifinal finishes at Dallas and Las Vegas, Bob Tasca III ran just a few hundredths slower than his Friday best of 3.856, but still clocked an excellent 3.875 - 325.85 to hold on to the #4 spot on the list.

(LEFT) Laying down a career best in his first run on Friday (3.840), and backing it up with a 3.849, Cruz Pedregon was really enjoying the performance boost that he credits to the installation of a six-disc clutch. He kept up the pace on this run, with a 3.847 - 323.43 ringing up on the scoreboards as he firmly put his stamp on the top qualifying spot.

(RIGHT) The G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) Funny Car racer, John Force is still a "force" (sorry for the very bad pun) in the sport as he can run with the quickest cars in the class, and came into Pomona fourth in the points standings. On this run he was on pace to nearly equal his Friday best of 3.864, but he started heading for the centerline on the top end, forcing him to click it early to a pass.

(LEFT) Running alongside Force in the last pair of the session, Matt "Hulk" Hagan was still in contention for the world championship, and sitting in a good spot (#2) in the field. He ran a little slower (3.867) and a little faster (326.56) than Friday, but the consistency was encouraging to the team.

(RIGHT) A euphoric Christina Gordon is celebrating her team's second World Championship in Top Alcohol Funny Car after seeing challenger Shane Westerfield redlight away his chance to catch Doug Gordon in the championship chase.

PRO STOCK - Qualifying Session #4 (FINAL)

Going into the final qualifying session, there were just two cars on the outside of the very tightly bunched field. In fact, 15 of the 16 cars in the field were in the 6.50's, ranging from Troy Coughlin Jr.'s leading 6.508, down to Chris McGaha's #15 6.573 e.t. That was a spread of just six hundredths of a second. Holding down the bump spot was transplanted Aussie Shane Tucker with a 6.605, followed by #17 Alan Prusiensky, just a fraction behind at 6.609, and at the bottom of the list, Kenny Delco, trailing with a best of 6.653. The session opened with Prusiensky and Delco paired off, both trying to find enough horsepower to bump into the Sunday show.

In that first pair, Alan Prusiensky tried hard, with a solid, but slower, 6.623 - 207.50, that fell less than two hundredths short of making the field. In the other lane (not shown), Kenny Delco made his best run of the weekend, but his 6.625 - 208.80 was similarly short of qualifying. This pair finalized the competitors, but it remained to be seen where everyone would end up on the ladder.

Already qualified in the #14 spot, Fernando Caudra was looking to move up the ladder, but his 6.577 - 209.65 wasn't quicker than his earlier 6.565 pass. Running alongside him was Shane Tucker (not shown), who picked up four thousandths and moved the bump spot down to 6.601, making it almost an entire 6.5-second field.

Since Pro Stock cars are easily affected by atmospheric changes, this final session wasn't expected to show many, if any, e.t. or mph improvments. Following that logic it wasn't surprising to see Matt Hartford run slower than his earlier best of 6.556, but his 6.580 - 209.14 wasn't far off the earlier clocking.

(LEFT) Running in the same pairing as Hartford, Chris McGaha was likewise two hundredths slower, but picked up some mph, as did Hartford. McGaha's final qualifying effort was 6.595 - 208.94 as he stayed in the #15 spot.

(RIGHT) The 2022 NHRA Rookie of The Year, Camrie Caruso nearly matched her #13 qualifying e.t., running just two thousandths slower, as the clocks stopped at 65.50 - 210.37 on her run.

Another racer with a close, but not better pass, Fernando Caudra Jr. was unable to elevate his qualifying position from #9, after his 6.561 - 209.26 was two hundredths slower than the #8 qualifying 6.541 elapsed time.

(LEFT) Coming into this final session, Erica Enders was sitting in a very unfamiliar qualifying position, all the way down the ladder in the #8 spot. She did manage to improve, by one thousandth on this run, to a 6.540 - 210.60, but her position wasn't safe, with a few lower qualified cars waiting in the lanes.

(RIGHT) There was no improvment for the #11 qualifier, Cristian Caudra as his 6.577 - 209.85 was a few hundredths slower than his best (6.553) run in earlier qualifying.

Firmly ensconced in the top half of the field in the #7 slot, Bo Butner III ran a little faster (210.42), but not quicker, as his 6.533 was five thousandths slower than his previous best.

(LEFT) Another racer that stayed in his previous position (#6), Kyle Koretsky put down a solid 6.537 - 209.59 pass on his final attempt.

(RIGHT) Coming into the session in the #4 spot on the list, Aaron Stanfield stayed there despite a slower 6.551 - 210.01 time. His earlier best of 6.524 was right in the ballpark of the top cars this weekend though.

Looking very different in his retro "Hiner & Miller" (old Pro Stock team) wrap, Deric Kramer fell off subtantially on his final qualifer, but an earlier 6.526 - 200.20 kept him in the #5 spot on the ladder.

After a first round loss at the previous race (Las Vegas), Greg Anderson was definitely on the rebound with a 6.509 best during qualifying here. It was just .001 slower than Troy Coughlin Jr.'s top qualifying effort. On his final qualifier, Anderson launched hard but encountered some serious tire shake early and shut off to an 8-second clocking.

Sitting at the top of the qualifying sheet, Troy Coughlin Jr. wasn't able to break into 6.40's, but he still had the quickest run of the final session, nearly two hundredths quicker than Mason McGaha's second-best effort. Coughlin's timelsip read 6.512 - 211.06, which was the fastest speed of the meet and nearly low e.t. as his earlier 6.508 was the quickest.

Finishing off qualifying for Pro Stock, last year's NHRA Rookie of The Year, Dallas Glenn slowed a few hundredths but still maintained his #3 position on the ladder with a solid 6.544 - 209.95 on this pass.

TOP FUEL - Qualifying Session #4 (FINAL)

The math coming into this final session was simple: 18 cars, 16 spots. Holding down the bump spot was veteran Steve Chrisman with a career best 3.894 - 311.70. The two non-qualifed racers, Cameron Ferre, and Maurice DuPont were at the head of the staging lanes and ready to give it their best shots at breaking into what had become a fairly tough field. Interestingly, Chrisman didn't came up to defend his spot.

(LEFT) Sitting at the bottom of the list with a 5.112 "best", Cameron Ferre was basically dead in the water (so to speak) when the car launched with a fuel line undone on top of the engine and he was forced to shut off with 4.409 coming up on the boards. Seeing that they were safely qualified, Ron August Jr. (#15) and Krista Baldwin (#14) pulled out of line and returned to the pits.

(RIGHT) Hoping to improve his earlier 3.796 pass, Alex Laughlin wheeled the Havoline-sponsored, Scott Palmer-owned car to his best run of the event, with a solid 3.773 - 319.14. A very good run for the team but it still left him in the #13 position. However, three out of his four qualifying passes were in the 3.70's, showing some serious consistency.

(LEFT) Sitting in the fast half of the field (#6), Tony Schumacher wanted to stay there, but fell back one spot after spinning the tires early enroute to a 6.129 - 98.72 pass. Bumping him back was his opponent, and ex-teammate, Antron Brown.

(RIGHT) Coming into the final session well down the list in the #11 spot, despite a very good 3.714 e.t., Antron Brown stepped up big time with the first 3.60 of the round, clocking in at 3.696 - 329.26 to vault to the #5 spot and first round lane choice.

(LEFT) Coming to the end of what had to be a frustrating season, Shawn Langdon hoped to elevate his qualifying position to the upper half of the list, but that would take a run under 3.70. With a best of 3.751 - 324.59 under his belt, Langdon was consistent, but not quicker, with a 3.759 - 324.83 to stay in the #12 spot going into eliminations.

(RIGHT) Another racer who has had a forgettable season, Doug Kalitta punched out his second 3.60 of the event, with his 3.693 - 329.42 elevating him one spot on the ladder to #5, and bumping Antron Brown down a rung on the ladder.

(LEFT) He came into the countdown in second place in the standings, but since then, Mike Salinas has seen his placing slide down to fifth before a slight rebound to the #3 spot after a runner-up finish at Las Vegas. Sitting in the #4 position in the field with a 3.673 best, he moved up one spot on this run with a quickest of the session - so far - 3.666 - 331.45 to keep himself in the championship chase.

(RIGHT) Running in the lane next to Salinas was Clay Millican, who wanted to join the "60" club, but fell just short with a 3.721 - 312.78 pass that ended with a head gasket failure that slowed him on the top end. That kept him in the #9 spot with his earlier 3.705 - 331.04 best.

(LEFT) Even though he wasn't quite out of the championship chase, at least mathematically, Steve Torrence and his CAPCO team weren't giving up their title hopes without a fight. They proved it here with a best of the round 3.647 - 332.10 that kept him in the #2 spot and backed up and improved on their earlier 3.656 effort.

(RIGHT) Running in the last pair of the session, as she has done so many times this year (and throughout her career) Brittany Force was expected to "swing for the fences" on this run. She didn't quite hit the proverbial home run but backed up her earlier low qualifying numbers of 3.641 - 338.94 with an excellent 3.659 - 333.91 to finish qualifying. That made a string of 3.64, 3.66 and 3.65 runs in qualifying, easily the most consistent of any Top Fuel car.

FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #4 (FINAL)

The situation facing the Funny Car contingent was similar to that of Top Fuel. 18 cars, 16 spots, and the first pair out of the staging lanes were the two non-qualified car. Bobby Bode III and Terry Haddock were the racers under the gun to qualify. The bump spot, 4.159 was held down by Jason Rupert who was in line, ready to run, paired up with #14 Steven Densham ready to run if they had to.

(LEFT) Of the two cars on the outside, Bobby Bode III had the best chance to make the show on Sunday, as he had a string of 3-second times under his belt. The car left hard on his last chance run, but just before half track, lit up big-time and slowed to a 4.340 - 208.78, that left him at the bottom of the list and not qualified.

(RIGHT) Running beside Bode was perennial hard-trier Terry Haddock and he gave it a full effort, keeping the candles lit all the way to the finish line, but falling well short of the bump spot with his 4.264 - 275.79 clocking.

(LEFT) There was a long wait for Jason Rupert in the staging lanes after Bode's fiery and oily pass, and while he was waiting, Steven Densham pulled out of the lanes and returned to the pits, with his position in the field safe. When the track was cleaned up and ready to run on, Rupert laid down a career best e.t. and speed at 4.030 - 313.44 to move up one spot on the ladder to the #15 position. With Johnny West helping on the tuneup, the car is making some solid progress.

(RIGHT) With the track almost fully dark, Chad Green was scheduled to run beside Jim Campbell but the lower-budget Jim Dunn elected to save the parts and fuel for tomorrow's eliminations and pulled out of line. Green wasn't able to improve on his earlier 3.95 best, but his 4.018 - 312.78 was close enough to show some consistency heading into eliminations. But he was starting from the #13 spot on Sunday and facing a really quick and fast opponent.

It's been a tough season for Paul Lee, with crew chief and crew changes, and not a single round win until mid-season at Topeka's Heartland Nationals. Then another long dry spell until his second round win of the season at Dallas. Only attending 15 of 22 races on the schedule must have played a part in the team never really getting on top of the tuneup. Things turned around here with a solid 3.991 - 318.92 and a 3.942 - 328.22 in this final qualifying session. That moved them up one spot to #12 on the ladder.

(LEFT) Sitting just on the outside of the top half of the field, Alexis DeJoria and her crew chief Del Worsham were looking to take advantage of the cool track and air conditions. They did just that with an excellent 3.862 - 333.00 to move up three spots to #6. Her e.t. was a career best by one thousandth and the speed was just a few hundredths of a mph short of a career best in that department.

(RIGHT) After DeJoria bumped him down one spot, J.R. Todd was under the gun to get back in the fast half, but he lit up the tires before the 330' mark, forcing him to shut off to a 6-second, 98 mph timeslip. That left him in the #9 spot and a first round matchup with Tim Wilkerson on Sunday morning.

(LEFT) Sitting in the #2 qualifying position, and hungry for every point he can gain, Matt Hagan had the car loaded for bear in this final session. The car left hard but just before half track, the engine went BOOM and slowed him to a 4.057 - 245.32 clocking.

(RIGHT) In the other lane, John Force smoked the tires before the 330' mark and coasted through at 7.671 - 84.34, leaving him in the "lucky" #7 spot on the final qualifying list. That spot earns him a match with J.R. Todd in the first round of eliminations on Sunday.

(LEFT) The final pair of Funny Car qualifying featured low qualifier Cruz Pedregon and he laid down an excellent 3.841 - 330.31, just one thousandth of a second slower than his career best and his best speed of the weekend. However, it wasn't enough to hang on to the #1 qualifying position.

(RIGHT) The reason Pedregon lost the #1 spot was due to Ron Capps laying down the run of the event at 3.837, coupled with a booming top end of 337.33 to take over the top spot on the ladder. Crew chief Dickie Venables went for broke on the run and made it work.

The day's action closed with Canadian Crazy "Nitro" Mike Kunz and his "Walking Tall" PT Cruiser wheelstander. It puts on quite a show and holds the official Guinness World Record for the longest wheelstand. Obviously, he can't break that record at Pomona with the rather limited shutdown area but he kept the crowd entertained as the show closed on Saturday evening.

The latest update as of November 14, 2022

Only 115 Days until the 2023 NHRA season opener.... in Gainesville

The smoke has cleared from the final event of the 2022 NHRA Camping World Drag Racing Series event at Pomona's historic Auto Club Raceway, soon to be known as the In-N-Out Burger Pomona Raceway. But that's for next year, and this season finished with some great racing at the Auto Club NHRA Finals, and one championship that went down to the semifinal round: Funny Car, where Ron Capps took his second consecutive World Championship by defeating Bob Tasca III in the third round of eliminations.

He wasn't declared the champion until the completion of the final round, as he went into that race against event winner Cruz Pedregon with a three point lead over Robert Hight and could have lost the points lead with a boundary infraction, ie. crossing the centerline in the final. There was always a possibility that he would have simply staged and idled down the track to be sure of grabbing the championship trophy, but he raced all-out against Pedregon, leaving first by .001 second, and putting down his quickest e.t. of the day, 3.850 - 333.16 to just fall short of Pedregon's winning 3.839 - 335.65 effort.

The Top Fuel battle ended very quickly as the only challengers with a chance of taking the points lead from the newly crowned (for the second time) world champion, Brittany Force, all fell in the opening round of eliminations. After Force easily dispatched Steve Chrisman, first to fall by the wayside was Mike Salinas, who smoked the tires, then Steve Torrence who smoke the tires, pedalled and lost to Ron August Jr. Last to drop out of the chase was Justin Ashley, who just got outrun by eventual event winner Antron Brown. And that was it for the drama in the Top Fuel ranks.

Much more coming on the event tomorrow, hopefully with some photos to go with all the verbiage. As always.... stay tuned!

The latest update as of November 12, 2022

Two days done and two to go at the Auto Club NHRA Finals

As I write this report, the first round of eliminations in Top Alcohol are starting. First out of the lanes are the dragsters, and the first pairing features Jasmine Salinas against Jackie Fricke in a do-or-die situation for Jasmine's championship hopes. If she loses, her chances to win the title are over, as well as her season. Her opponent, Fricke, faced a similarly dramatic situation last season when the TAD title battle went down to the final round at Las Vegas. A race that went in favour of last year's champion, Rachel Meyer, in the Randy Meyer-tuned and owned car.

Turning her best e.t. of the weekend (so far), Salinas took out Fricke with a 5.224 - 278.23to keep her chance for the championship alive. Two pairs later, points leader Joey Severance eliminated Casey Grisel with his best of the weekend 5.211 - 275.45, that exactly matched his #6 qualifying e.t. at a slightly better speed. That winlight for Severance eliminated Matt Cummings from contention, and made the calculations much simpler for the Severance team. All they need now is to get past Cummings in their second round match to clinch the championship. However, with Salinas and Cummings both being tuned by Rich McPhillips Sr. & Jr., they will in all likelihood, pull out all the stops on the Cummings car in the next round.

Almost before the smoke from the final burnouts in the dragster round had cleared, the Funny Cars started running, and the first pair out provided some high drama. With their backs literally against the wall, the Rick Jackson Motorsports team, with Shane Westerfield driving needed to win the entire event to have any chance of overtaking points leader Doug Gordon. Westerfield managed to keep his reaction time on the right side, with a conservative (for him) .056 light, and took out Jim Whiteley in a close race. That was one down, and three more to go.

Two pairs later, Doug Gordon took a nearly uncontested win over Clint Thompson, who shook the chutes out on the launch and came to a quick stop. Gordon pounded out low e.t. of the meet at 5.394 - 270.70 to take the win and earn the second round bye directly into the semifinals. As long as they can get the car to the starting line under its own power in the next round, they will face the winner of the Westerfield - (Annie) Whiteley second round match in the semis. If it's Westerfield, it could be the deciding round for the championship, but if it's Whiteley, that means the title has already gone to Gordon. It's going to be interesting.

The second round of eliminations for the Top Alcohol cars is scheduled at 2:15 pm and we will be able to update the situation shortly after that. Next on the agenda is to look at the first day of qualifying for the PRO cars from yesterday. We've just got pics of the #1 cars in Top Fuel and Funny Car so far, and that will be our focus for today.

There's all sorts of cliches that could describe Brittany Force's run late on Friday afternoon. She dropped a literal BOMB on the field with a very quick 3.641 e.t. But that was only part of the story, as her 338.94 mph speed was only the fastest run in the history of drag racing. To describe it as a "monster" run (in the MONSTER Energy car would be a very bad pun... but that's the only kind we have. All kidding aside, it showed that the Force team, with David Grubnic and Mac Savage calling the shots, is going to be difficult to overtake for the championship. At this point, Brittany is in control of her destiny, but eliminations tomorrow will be a seriously pressure-packed affair.

With two rounds of qualifying completed, the Top Fuel field is very tightly bunched, with less than a tenth of a second separating the top ten racers. This part of the report is being written as the third round of Top Fuel qualifying is underway, and we've already seen the bump spot lowered to a 3.894, as Steve Chrisman in the Worsham Family car, cranked out a career best to get into the field going into the final session later today. That last qualifier may play a critical role in determining the outcome of the event and the championship, as first round matchups will be critical for the racers. Stay tuned for that!

It's been a difficult season for Cruz Pedregon and his Snap-On team. It started well with a solid performance at the season opening Lucas Oil Winternationals, with a #4 qualifying spot and a semifinal round finish. From there on, things went downhill with a string of second round losses, and one first round loss in the next nine races. Then it got even worse, with just one round win in the stretch between Denver and Indy. At the beginning of the countdown, where he started in the #8 position, he had a round win at the first race (Reading), then just one more in the next four races coming into the season finale at Pomona. The car wasn't running badly, getting down the track cleanly almost every run, but just not getting very many winlights.

However, it seems that Pomona is Pedregon's favourite track as he lit up the scoreboards yesterday with the quickest e.t. of the first round (and his career), by half a tenth, at 3.840 - 322.58 to show that they were ready to contend this weekend. He backed that up with an almost as quick, and faster, 3.849 - 327.03, in the second season to hold on to the top spot on the qualifying list. Only Matt Hagan was able to outrun him - by just .005 - in that session. Going into today's final two rounds of qualifying, Pedregon is looking to possibly improve on the two best runs of his entire career.

NEWS FLASH: Cruz Pedregon just notched his third consecutive 3.84 pass, as his 3.847 - 323.43 kept him on top of the heap in the FC class, and the news that they were running a six-disc clutch shows that they may have some much better results in 2023. Stay tuned for more from qualifying later this afternoon.

3:00 PM UPDATE

We're back with the second round of Top Alcohol eliminations completed. The round started with a tension-filled matchup between Jasmine Salinas and Madison Payne. It was a great race, with Salinas leaving first by .005, and Payne taking the winlight by a cumulative margin of just .008 second. Tremendous racing, with Payne's 5.284 just edging out Salinas' 5.297. That loss eliminated Salinas from the championship chase and gave a very deserving Joey Severance his FIFTH world championship, and first since the 2018 season. It was quite a battle but in the end the blown alky car of the Severance family took the title.

Next out of the lanes was the champion, and he kept the winning pace going, easily defeating Matt Cummings with a solid 5.233 pass over Cummings 11-second shutoff effort. The other two dragsters to advance to the semis were Taylor Vetter and Garrett Bateman (who downed Shawn Cowie) with a great low e.t. of the round 5.199 pass. In the semifinal, it will be Bateman with lane choice over Severance, and Vetter over Payne. With two blown and two injected cars meeting, we could have the first all-blown alky final round at a national event in quite some time.

Interestingly, we may be seeing the last Top Alcohol Funny Car race where the blown alcohol combination dominates the field, as it remains the sole option available until next season's introduction of the A/Fuel Funny Car combination. The world championship for 2022 in TAFC was decided quickly as the last racer with a chance of catching Doug Gordon did what he's been so very prone to do in the last two months, and redlighted away what would have been a winning pass. Shane Westerfield threw away a 5.442, making Annie Whiteley's very good 5.476 e.t. a winning one and advancing her to the semifinals.

Two more very good races followed, with Matt Gill running 5.482, and outgoing champion Greg Bellemeur cranking out low e.t. of the round at 5.432 to both advance to the semis. The round closed with the new - and returning (he won in 2020) - champion Doug Gordon, and he didn't take it easy, laying down a consistent 5.447 to earn lane choice over Whiteley in tomorrow's semifinal. The other pairing in that round will see Bellemeur choosing his lane over Gill.

Next up is the final qualifying session for the PRO competitors, which will set up what could be some very interesting pairings for tomorrow's eliminations. Stay tuned!

4:00 PM UPDATE

The final qualifying session for Top Fuel has just started, and the first two cars down the track, Maurice "Wicked Mo" DuPont (driving Scott Palmer's car), and Cameron Ferre (driving Terry Haddock's car), both ran into fuel system problems and failed to get into the field. That set the bump spot at Steve Chrisman's third session 3.894 - 311.07 pass. With the field set, the next pair in line, Chrisman and Ron August Jr., both elected to not run and return to the pits. Joining them was another safely qualified car, Krista Baldwin, as they all decided to save parts and fuel for the first round of eliminations tomorrow.

It's at this point that we have to close the reporting until Monday. Prior commitments are going to use up all my available time for this evening and all day tomorrow. We'll be back Monday with (hopefully) lots of photos and details on how the race and the championship battles played out.

The latest update as of November 11, 2022

Day ONE is in the books at the Auto Club NHRA Finals

Thursday was devoted to the Sportsman and Pro Sportsman racers, with the Top Alcohol classes taking center stage. Conditions were very good for the racers, with corrected altitudes dipping below 1500 ft and air temps in the mid to low 60's (F), almost perfect for the blown and unblown cars. Both the Funny Cars and Dragsters ran well, with the TAD bump spot sitting at 5.384 going into today's final qualifying session. Leading the way was second-year (and third generation) driver, Madison Payne with career best numbers of 5.177 - 281.19. She's been on a hot streak of late, with her first national event win at the Nevada Nationals two weeks ago, following her first career final round at the Texas FallNationals last month.

In the championship battle, leader Joey Severance had a tough start to his weekend, with his first qualifying pass leaving him on the bubble with a pedalling 5.585 - 271.08 timeslip. His second effort was much better until the 1000' mark when he shut off to a 5.376 - 216.20, leaving him in a precarious #15 position going into the final qualifying session today. His pursurers, Matt Cummings and Jasmine Salinas fared better, with Cummings sitting #3 with a 5.201 - 276.41, and Salinas in the #6 spot with a 5.251 - 278.63 pass. Interestingly, both cars are tuned by the McPhillips family, and Cummings' car is owned by Rich Sr. It must be quite a balancing act being fair to both drivers and trying to see both succeed.

Leaving with the front tires skimming the surface, young Madison Payne in the Duane Shields-owned, Dana Hopewell-tuned "Muscle Milk" entry cranks out a very good 5.275 - 278.35 to take the #4 position in the first qualifying session. Her second run was even better, with a low qualifying 5.177 - 281.19 showing up on the Pomona scoreboards.

On the Funny Car side, points leader Doug Gordon stamped his mark on the field with a low qualifying effort of 5.430 - 270.70 in the first session, then improved his e.t. to a 5.423 in the second session to hold on to the top spot. There's only 14 cars in the field, but they are all quality teams, capable of running 5.50's, 5.40's, and under the right conditions, 5.30's. Challenging Gordon for the season championship is Shane Westerfield, and he rebounded nicely in the second round of qualifying, after a so-so 5.548 e.t. in the first session. His second pass resulted in a #3 qualifying 5.454 - 267.85, placing him in a good spot going into the final qualifier today.

The championship battle could be over early IF Doug Gordon can hang on to the #1 qualifying spot going into eliminations. With the odd-sized field, if he can get past the #14 qualifier in the opening round of eliminations, he would earn the automatic bye into the semifinal round. If that happens, Westerfield would need to win the event, AND Gordon would have to lose in the semifinals, or earlier. It will be interesting to see how all that plays out, with today's final qualifying session, and Saturday's first two rounds of eliminations. If both Gordon and Westerfield are in the final four on Sunday, then the pressure will be immense. NOTE: They are currently on opposite sides of the ladder and can't meet until the final round.

Launching on his way to a very good opening pass of 5.430 - 270.70 to take the early pole position, Doug Gordon put the family owned "BETA Motorcycles" entry at the top of the list. He ran even better in the late afternoon session, with a 5.423 - 269.29 hanging on to the #1 spot and solidifying his hold on the field.

Now that we have all the photos from the first qualifying session for Top Alcohol Funny Car, we can present them in chronological order, complete with captions.

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #1

Making his first appearance at an NHRA national event in six years, Oregon's Clint Thompson in the "Charpilloy & Hoyland" entry made a decent opening run of 5.693 - 222.03, despite a fairly early shutoff.

(LEFT) Making the long trek down from Anchorage, AK, Ray Martin made a good first pass of 5.595 - 259.76 in his unlettered black Camaro. He only runs the west coast (Pomona & Vegas) races but he's fairly competitive when he does appear.

(RIGHT) The real winner of the long distance award - in the TAFC class - is Ulf Leanders, all the way from Sweden with a brutally quick and fast car. He lit up the scoreboards with the first ".40" of the weekend, a 5.451 - 264.49 to temporarily take the top spot on the ladder.

(LEFT) The "Disturbed" team has only made one foray east of the Rockies this year, (Indy for the U.S. Nationals), but Chris Marshall has been on a bit of a hot streak in the waning weeks of the season. A semifinal finish at the Nevada Nationals and a runnerup at last week's Vegas regional had him primed for a good finish to his season and he started strongly with a 5.502 - 265.95 timeslip in this first session.

(RIGHT) Running alongside Marshall, was the Miner Brothers-tuned entry of Jake Guadagnolo, and he was quicker to the 300' mark before falling back slightly to a 5.579 - 262.33 pass. That put him in the #6 spot in the 14-car field, with three pairs waiting to run.

It's been an up and down season for Brian Hough with just one final round appearance on the national event trail, and four, including one win, in regional competition. He hasn't run in the 5.40's yet in 2022, and his first pass here resulted in a DQ for wiping out the 660' e.t. and speed timing blocks. Even though the scoreboards read 6.234 - 160.77, the run was thrown out.

(LEFT) Making their first appearance out west, Matt Gill and father-tuner Paul, made the long tow to Las Vegas for the national and regional events, and continued on to the season finale at Pomona. Even though they had no chance to move up from their #5 position in the championship standings, they wanted to compete against the top runners in the class. Their Auto Club Finals debut pass ended with an early shutoff and a 7.608 - 172.83 timeslip.

(RIGHT) Facing a huge mountain to climb to regain the points lead and garner his second world championship in TAFC, Shane Westerfield needed some big performances - with NO redlights - to have a chance. His opening salvo was a 5.548 - 266.74 that left the Rick Jackson-owned team in the #7 spot on the ladder.

The outgoing champion, Sean Bellemeur, who was mathematically eliminated from championship contention at Las Vegas, laid down a great 5.494 - 265.74 to take the #2 spot, but with two top runners (Westerfield and Gordon) waiting to run in the final pair of the round, it was probably not going to hold up. However, it showed, once again, that there is no quit in the "Killer B's" team.

Closing out the first session was Doug Gordon, the points leader, and he blitzed the timers with an excellent 5.430 - 270.70 to take low e.t. and top speed honours for the first qualifying session. It really gave the "comeback team of the year" a leg up on closing out the championship chase. If they could hang on to the top spot through qualifying, they would be matched with the slowest car in the field in round one, AND get a bye run in the second round. That would virtually lock up the championship.

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER - Qualifying Session #1

He's been trying to get back to the competitive status he had a decade ago, but Mike Austin is not a racer ready to give up on trying to make a blown alcohol car work in today's drag racing environment. His opening pass of 5.414 - 266.32 showed lots of power but not quite quick enough in the first 330 feet.

(LEFT) This car is owned by Oregonian Gregg Lawrence and driven by second generation California driver Trevor Larkin, son of the late "Little" Tommy Larkin, a former Top Gas & Top Fuel driver in the 1960's and 70's. The partnership hasn't made much noise in the TAD ranks, but they appeared to be headed in the right direction with a career best for Larkin of 5.431 - 260.41 coming up in the first session.

(RIGHT) Former two-time world champion in the class (2010 & 2014), Chris Demke is still competing with the Jerry Maddern-owned "Peen-Rite" car. They haven't raced much in recent years, but semi-final finishes at both Las Vegas events this season showed that they can still step up and run with the faster cars. His first pass here resulted in a decent e.t., 5.365, coupled with a big speed of 271.90 mph, to place him #8 in the field.

Another second generation racer, Travis Shumake, son of the late Tripp Shumake, has had a successful rookie season driving one of the Randy Meyer Racing entries. His season best was a 5.213 at Charlotte's fall race, but his opening pass here was a little slower at 5.376 - 271.30. The wrap on the car was a tribute to one of his father's last race cars.

Kim Parker

(LEFT) Ron Anderson

(RIGHT) Garrett Bateman

Johnny Ahten

Tom Fox Jr.

Madison Payne

Jackie Fricke

Matt Cummings

Joey Severance

The latest update as of November 8, 2022

The 57th annual Auto Club NHRA Finals begins in TWO days

It's been very quiet here at Northern Thunder for the past few days, but we're back on the 'net with our latest updates. Electricity is something that we just take for granted.... until it's not there. Friday evening our island home was buffeted by a serious wind storm, not hurricane strength, but enough to take out power lines, and in some cases, poles. The result was nearly two days of darkness, living by candelight and thankfully using our gas fireplace and cooktop to prep a few basic meals and keep warm. The lights came on early Sunday and now we're back.

PRO Championship Points Standings

TOP FUEL

This is the battle that everyone will be watching, with leader - by just SEVEN points, Brittany Force, having to fend off the hard-charging Justin Ashley at Pomona. While Force entered the countdown in the #1 position, Ashley was able to overtake her at the first stop on the countdown tour, finishing runnerup at Reading, while Force lost in the second round. From there on until the latest event, in Las Vegas, Ashley held the points lead until an untimely first round loss, coupled with Force's event victory, turned the tables and moved her into the lead for the championship.

The graphic above shows that Shawn Langdon and Doug Kalitta are mathematically eliminated from contention, BUT if Force fails to appear or is unable to make at least one qualifying attempt (chances of that happening are virtually ZERO), they could theoretically take the championship. Of course, the six other races ahead of them would have to make a very early exit, or not qualify, for that to happen.

Racers with a real chance to challenge for the championship are Mike Salinas, just 66 points behind Force, and Antron Brown, 78 points in arrears. Below those two, sits the four-time defending Top Fuel champion, Steve Torrence, 87 points behind and needing both an event win AND an early exit for Force and Ashley. The last two competitors in the "not quite out" category, Austin Prock (126 points behind), and Josh Hart (161 behind) will almost certainly be eliminated at the close of qualifying on Saturday.

What it all boils down to is a pressure-packed weekend for the top two protagonists, and a "hope against hope" event for the balance of the contending racers. The championship chase may even come down to the final round of eliminations on Sunday afternoon, which would be the highest stakes race of the year.

FUNNY CAR

The battle for the Funny Car crown is a little more straightforward, with season-long points leader, Robert Hight, holding a slightly more than two round win lead over the only two racers with a chance to overtake him for the title. Second in points, Ron Capps, is 61 points behind, while just a tick below him is Matt Hagan, 63 points back of Hight. All Hight needs to do is win two rounds of eliminations to clinch the championship, unless a few possibilities play out.

With the extra bonus points being offered in qualifying, which could total as many as 26 (low e.t. of each of the four qualifying sessions, and top qualifier), those "little" points could play a key role in determining the outcome of the Funny Car title. While Hight has dominated qualifying at nearly every race this year, Capps and Hagan are usually right there with him, and if they can outperform him in qualifying, the two round gap could be whittled down to just a single round win difference going into eliminations. That would make things very interesting on Sunday, and if so, the tension is sure to be immense for all three racers.

PRO STOCK

This class was almost a foregone conclusion even before the countdown started, as four-time world champion, Erica Enders, led the points standings from the season opener in Pomona and was more than 200 points ahead of her closest challenger. Although the "great points reset" closed the gap to a mere 20 points (as shown in the graphic above), she quickly widened her lead to 90 points by winning the first event of the countdown at Reading's Maple Grove Raceway. Despite losing in the semifinals at the next race (Charlotte), she still held a 68 point lead.

Then the Elite Performance team really kicked into high gear, winning the next three races, and wrapped up her fifth world championship with a semifinal win over Kyle Koretsky. She then went on to take the event victory, her tenth win of a truly dominating season. The only drama in the class at Pomona will be who will end up in the #2 through #5 positions in the final standings. There is only a 64-point gap between those four spots so there's almost certain to be at least some shuffling at the season ender.

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

PRO SPORTSMAN Championship Points Standings

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER

TAD Championship Points - November 6, 2022

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR

TAFC Championship Points - November 6, 2022

The championship chase has been whittled down to two cars, as the other two racers battling for the title, D.J. Cox Jr. and defending champion Sean Bellemeur fell out of the race after the Texas FallNationals. The big surprise is the new points leader, Doug Gordon who has come back from a disastrous first-round crash at the Lucas Oil Nationals (Brainerd) in late August. Gordon had been leading the standings until that weekend, but Shane Westerfield (who narrowly avoided being collateral damage in Gordon's crash), took a 54-point lead following the event.

With Gordon out of the picture for an indefinite amount of time, Westerfield took full advantage for a month, racking up a semifinal finish at the U.S. Nationals and a runnerup at the Betway Nationals (Charlotte), to take a 63-point over his closest pursuer, D.J. Cox Jr., going into the final three national events of the season. But a disturbing and ultimately, debilitating situation began to develop with the Rick Jackson Motorsports car. Westerfield redlighted three times during the course of the Charlotte race, but still managed to reach the final round, before throwing away his chances with an -.086 foul start.

It wasn't a "one-off" as the redlights kept piling up, with a second-round loss at the Texas FallNationals, courtesy of a redlight, followed by an embarassing DNQ at the North Central Regional event at St. Louis. In three qualifying passes he only redlighted once, but rang up .014 and .020 reactions on his other two attempts. Definitely flirting with danger, albeit only in qualifying. The redlights kept on coming at Las Vegas, as he turned on the crimson orb once in three qualifying attempts, and again in the first round of eliminations. At the conclusion of the event, which Gordon won, Westerfield's lead was down to 22 points over the fast-closing BETA Motorcycles team.

Last week's final regional event of the 2022 season saw Westerfield redlight once more in qualifying, and again in a first round loss. Taking full advantage of his situation, Doug Gordon took the event win and went home with a 20-point edge going into the Auto Club NHRA Finals. Both racers will be on home turf in Southern California and the momentum is squarely in Gordon's corner with his amazing string of successes since returning from the Brainerd crash with a new car just five weeks ago. Shane Westerfield and his team must feel the pressure now as nine of his last 22 runs have been redlight starts. Is it mental, mechanical, or a combination of the two? Whatever is causing it, they need some answers to the problem... and quickly, or his chances for a second world championship could evaporate very quickly at Pomona.

The situation for both racers is clear from the graphic above, as Gordon "only" needs to reach the semifinals to gain more points, while Westerfield needs to reach the final round - and win it - to win the championship. However, if Gordon can also reach the final, the championship will be his second time to hold the BIG Wally. Tension? You bet!

NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series points

And from the "while we're at it" department, the NHRA finally (like two weeks after the Hot Rod Reunion) got around to posting the final Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series points standings. We're showing the Top Ten finishers in Nostalgia Top Fuel (AA/FD) and Nostalgia Funny Car (AA/FC), but if you click on the graphics, the full (top 25 in FC) list of points earners will appear.

The latest update as of November 4, 2022

The final NHRA Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series Regional of the 2022 season is underway at The Strip at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. It's the second week of the busiest stretch of the year for the facility, following last week's four days of the NHRA Nevada Nationals, a test session on Monday of this week, and now four more days of racing to wrap up the two weeks of almost non-stop racing. For the Top Alcohol cars, it's the final chance to gain points towards the world championship at a regional event, and it's expected that almost every racer in the top ten in both Dragster and Funny Car will be on hand. The first two qualifying sessions go off this afternoon, with a final one scheduled for tomorrow, and the first round of eliminations later that afternoon.

Looking at the entry lists for next week's season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals, the top six dragsters in the standings are entered, among a total of 12 of the top 20 racers in that category. Presumably, most of them will be competing this weekend at Las Vegas as the traditional prelude to the Pomona race. The 2021 edition of the final West Region event attracted 17 entrants and this year's version should be close to or exceeding that number. On the Funny Car side, five of the top 20 racers are entered for Pomona, including the two remaining contenders for the 2022 World Championship, Shane Westerfield and Doug Gordon. Both will almost certainly be racing this weekend as they both have one regional points-earning opportunity remaining.

The battle for the dragster championship has been whittled down to three racers: Joey Severance, Matt Cummings, and Jasmine Salinas. With all three entered for the Finals, it's also presumed that they will be competing this weekend. Even though Severance cannot gain any more regional points, he can act as a blocker to prevent Cummings or Salinas from gaining ground on him going into the season's final race next week.

This weekend's event at The Strip will almost certainly be a pivotal race in deciding the Top Alcohol championships, and we'll bring you more details and results during the next three days. Stay tuned!

The latest update as of November 1, 2022

NHRA Nevada Nationals - Sunday FINAL Rounds

Ken Mostowich (near lane) vs
Gabriel Torres (far lane)

(LEFT) SUPER COMP - Ken Mostowich (near lane) vs Gabriel Torres (far lane)

(RIGHT) SUPER GAS - Chris Lewis (near lane) vs Dave Holmes (far lane)

Greg Stanfield - GT/JA (near lane)
vs Tyler Wudarczyk - GT/MA (far lane)

(LEFT) SUPER STOCK - Greg Stanfield - GT/JA (near lane) vs Tyler Wudarczyk - GT/MA (far lane)

(RIGHT) STOCK - Leo Glasbrenner (near lane) vs Steve Wann (far lane)

Jarrod Granier - D/SM
(near lane) vs Jeff Taylor - B/AA (far lane)

(LEFT) COMP - Jarrod Granier - D/SM (near lane) vs Jeff Taylor - B/AA (far lane)

(RIGHT) TOP DRAGSTER - Jeff Korn - T/D (near lane) vs Aaron Steinkey - T/D (far lane)

NOSTALGIA FUNNY CAR

Billy Morris (near lane) vs Bobby Cottrell (far lane)

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR

Annie Whiteley (near lane) vs Doug Gordon (far lane)

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER

Madison Payne (near lane) vs Tony Stewart (far lane)

PRO STOCK MOTORCYCLE

Matt Smith (near lane) vs Hector Arana Jr. (far lane)

PRO STOCK

Erica Enders (near lane) vs Troy Coughlin Jr. (far lane)

FUNNY CAR

Matt Hagan (near lane) vs Robert Hight (far lane)

TOP FUEL

Mike Salinas (near lane) vs Brittany Force (far lane)

The latest update as of October 31, 2022

We start our coverage today with photos from Saturday's third qualifying session for the PRO cars. Leading off are the Pro Stock cars.

PRO STOCK - Qualifying Session #3

(LEFT) Shane Tucker

(RIGHT) Dallas Glenn

(LEFT) Troy Coughlin Jr.

(RIGHT) Alan Prusiensky

Kenny Delco

(LEFT) Fernando Caudra Sr.

(RIGHT) Mason McGaha

(LEFT) Fernando Caudra Jr.

(RIGHT) Camrie Caruso

Chris McGaha

Matt Hartford

(LEFT) Kyle Koretsky

(RIGHT) Cristian Cuadra

(LEFT) Deric Kramer

(RIGHT) Greg Anderson

Bo Butner III

Erica Enders

Aaron Stanfield

TOP FUEL DRAGSTER- FINAL Qualifying Session

(LEFT) Clay Millican

(RIGHT) Krista Baldwin

(LEFT) Leah Pruett

(RIGHT) Tony Schumacher

(LEFT) Josh Hart

(RIGHT) Doug Kalitta

(LEFT) Steve Torrence

(RIGHT) Brittany Force

FUEL FUNNY CAR - FINAL qualifying session

(LEFT) Terry Haddock

(RIGHT) Bobby Bode III

(LEFT) Steven Densham

(RIGHT) Blake Alexander

(LEFT) Cruz Pedregon

(RIGHT) Chad Green

(LEFT) Alexis DeJoria

(RIGHT) John Force

(LEFT) Ron Capps

(RIGHT) J.R. Todd

Robert Hight

(LEFT) Ed 'The Outlaw' Jones

(RIGHT) Curt White - 'Iceman" Jet Dragster

NOSTALGIA FUNNY CAR - Eliminations Round Two

Geoff Monise - 'Quarter Pounder'

(LEFT) Bobby Cottrell - Northwest Hitter'

(RIGHT) Kris Krabill - Bartone & Lebor'

TOP ALCOHOL DRAGSTER - Eliminations Round Two

(LEFT) Madison Payne

(RIGHT) Hunter Green

(LEFT) Jackie Fricke

(RIGHT) Kim Parker

(LEFT) Tony Stewart

(RIGHT) Chris Demke

Shawn Cowie

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR - Eliminations Round Two

(LEFT) Brian & Mindy Hough

(RIGHT) Brian Hough

(LEFT) Annie Whiteley

(RIGHT) Doug Gordon

(LEFT) Matt Gill

(RIGHT) Chris Marshall

NHRA Nevada Nationals - Friday Fotos - Part Two

We only got the second session of Nitro Funny Car photos posted on Saturday before embarking on three days of 8-hour shifts at my new job. Yes, the retirement only lasted seven years, but it's just part-time work to help with the vacation budget for 2023. The downside, of course, is less time to spend on Northernthunder.com, but it's a necessary evil at this point. We will get the balance of the NHRA Nevada Nationals posted this week, continue updating our coverage of the FUNNY CAR CHAOS Championship Finals, and get ready for next week's season-ending Auto Club NHRA Finals at Pomona. Yes, our photographer, BIG Bob Snyder will be there to capture all the action.

TOP FUEL - Qualifying Session #2

(LEFT) Leah Pruett

(RIGHT) Steve Torrence

(LEFT) Antron Brown

(RIGHT) Krista Baldwin

(LEFT) Shawn Langdon

(RIGHT) Tony Schumacher

(LEFT) Austin Prock

(RIGHT) Justin Ashley

(LEFT) Mike Salinas

(RIGHT) Brittany Force

NOSTALGIA FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #2

Tim Boychuk - 'Happy Hour' (near lane)
vs Ryan Hodgson - 'Bubble-Up-Pacemaker' (far lane)

(LEFT) Tim Boychuk - 'Happy Hour' (near lane) vs Ryan Hodgson - 'Bubble-Up-Pacemaker' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Bobby Cottrell - 'Northwest Hitter'

(LEFT) Geoff Monise - 'Quarter Pounder'

(RIGHT) Billy Morris - 'Problem Child'

(LEFT) Bill Windham - 'Shakedown'

(RIGHT) Jeff Gregory - 'Mandess'

Cory McClenathan - 'Mac Attack'

TOP ALCOHOL FUNNY CAR - Qualifying Session #2

(LEFT) Doug Schneider

(RIGHT) Robert Turner

(LEFT) Mike Doushgounian

(RIGHT) Ulf Leanders

(LEFT) Randy Parker

(RIGHT) Jim Whiteley

(LEFT) Brian Hough

(RIGHT) Doug Gordon

(LEFT) D. J. Cox Jr.

(RIGHT) Greg Bellemeur

The latest update as of October 29, 2022

NHRA Nevada Nationals - Friday Fotos

We start our coverage with the second round of Funny Car Qualifying. Details to come later (probably tomorrow :-)

(LEFT) Jason Rupert in the "Black Plague"

(RIGHT) Jeff "The Surfer" Diehl

(LEFT) Jeff Arend in the Peter & Helen Russo entry

(RIGHT) Bobby Bode III

(LEFT) Chad Green

(RIGHT) Jim Campbell

(LEFT) Blake Alexander

(RIGHT) Cruz Pedregon

(LEFT) Terry Haddock

(RIGHT) Paul Lee<

(LEFT) Alexis DeJoria

(RIGHT) J.R. Todd

(LEFT) Matt Hagan

(RIGHT) Bob Tasca III

Robert Hight

Much, much more to come!

The latest update as of October 25, 2022

22nd annual NHRA Nevada Nationals

Parking for the Pro cars started yesterday morning and the first sportsman qualifying session kicks off at 9:00 AM Thursday. Pro and Top Alcohol qualifying runs Friday and Saturday, with four sessions for the pros and three for the alcohol cars. Two rounds of eliminations for the alcohol cars run Saturday with the final two rounds on Sunday, along with all pro eliminations.

In addition, there were be 12 Legends Nitro Funny Cars running as an exhibition feature. All of the invited cars ran as part of the NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Series in 2022, and they will join the "Big Show" throughout the weekend. They've got two qualifying sessions scheduled on Friday, two rounds of eliminations for the 8-car field on Saturday, and the final on Sunday afternoon. Hopefully the cars, drivers, and teams can do the quickaround from competing at the Hot Rod Reunion last weekend and be ready to put on a good show at Las Vegas this week.

Check out the Legends Nitro Funny Cars for more information on the cars and drivers, and what may be the future of nostalgia funny car racing. It looks a little the United Nitro Funny Cars idea, with Red Line Oil and a host of associate sponsors involved. We're looking forward to seeing how they make out on the big stage of an NHRA national event.

Much more to come on this event, next week's final NHRA Lucas Oil Regional Series event (also at The Strip at Las Vegas), and the season ending Auto Club NHRA Finals over the next three weeks. Stay tuned for regular updates.

The latest update as of October 24, 2022

30th annual CALIFORNIA HOT ROD REUNION

Things didn't quite go to plan over the past weekend, as our hard-working photographer, "BIG" Bob Snyder was physically unable to handle the four-day celeberation of nostalgia racing at the famed Famoso Dragstrip in Bakersfield. The event has been a fixture on Bob's racing calendar for more than a decade, but with two NHRA "Big" shows coming up in the next three weeks, he had to take the week off.

Filling the void was a fellow Vancouver Islander, Dyan Lover, who travelled all the way to Bakersfield from her home in Port Alberni, BC. Nearly matching her for distance travelled to the race was Nostalgia Top Fuel racer, Phil Ruskowski, who brought his "Island Nitro" entry down from Victoria, BC for the second time this season. While Dyan had some good moments behind her lenses, Phil's never-say-die team was unable to get the small-block Chevy powered car into the show, with a best time of 6.892 - 174.10 mph.

We've got a bunch of photos to go through before we can post them, but we can report that Bobby Cottrell in Bucky Austin & Ed O'Brien's "Northwest Hitter" was crowned NHRA Hot Rod Heritage Racing Series Nostalgia Funny Car for the FIFTH consecutive season. He dominated the class all year, winning the first four events of the season, and losing to breakage in the semifinals at the season finale. Congratulations to the entire team on another great season.

Bobby Cottrell - Bucky Austin winners circle

(LEFT) Bobby Cottrell slowing the "Northwest Hitter" with the 'chutes out in the shutdown area.

(RIGHT) Bucky Austin, Bobby Cottrell, Ed O'Brien, and the entire "Northwest Hitters" team in the winners circle, displaying their 2022 NHRA Hot Rod Hedritage Series championship banner. Five consecutive Nitro Nostalgia Funny Car championships for this team. Quite an accomplishment!

Bucky Austin (left) Bobby Cottrell (middle) Ed O'Brien (right)

Heidi Austin (left) Bobby Cottrell (right)

(LEFT) Bucky Austin (left), Bobby Cottrell (middle), and Ed O'Brien (right) in the winners circle.

(RIGHT) Heidi Austin (left) and Bobby Cottrell (right) in the winners circle.

We've only got a few random shots - so far - from Sunday. Our photographer, Dyan Lover, is now in Las Vegas for this coming weekend's NHRA Nevada Nationals. She's probably having waaay too much fun enjoying the "pre-race activities" to send more photos right now. My advice to her is: DON'T put all your chips on black!

Two views of Adam Sorokin in the small-block Chevy-powered "Champion Speed Shop" Nostalgia Top Fuel car at the end of his first round pass. The car ran very well to the 1000' ft. mark before grenading the engine, and burning deep into the shutdown area. Thanksfully, he emerged unscathed and the hard-working crew nearly got the spare engine installed for the semi-finals before running out of time.

Nathan Sitko - 'Bubble-Up-Pacemaker' (near lane) vs Billy Morris -
'Problem Child' (far lane)

(LEFT) It looks like Nathan Sitko in the Edmonton, AB-based "Bubble-Up-Pacemaker" entry in the near lane is well ahead of Billy Morris in the Eddy Knox-tuned "Problem Child" car (far lane). However, appearances can be deceiving as Morris narrowly edged out Sitko in the second round of Nostalgia Funny Car eliminations. Despite losing, Sitko carded his career best e.t. of 5.653 on this run, after setting a career best speed of 251.16 in a first round win on Saturday evening. All this happened as he was asked to fill in for regular driver Ryan Hodgson after arriving at the event. Quite an experience for young Mr. Sitko.

(RIGHT) After qualifying in the #3 spot at 5.678 - 257.38, Billy Morris improved to a 5.664 in the first round of eliminations, then improved again to a 5.601 in eliminating Sitko. In the semi-finals he cranked out a very consistent 5.620 - 244.60 to eliminate the other Canadian driver in the field, Tim Boychuk to continue his charmed weekend.

Billy Morris - 'Problem Child' (near lane) vs Tony Jurado - 'Capitol
Punishment' (far lane)

(LEFT) Captured just before the car fired for the final, Billy Morris was excited and ready to run his second final round in a Nostalgia Funny Car.

(RIGHT) Burnouts completed, almost ready to run, Billy Morris patiently waited for last-second adjustments to the "Problem Child" by car owner-crew chief Eddie Knox (near lane) before racing Tony Jurado and the "Capitol Punishment" Funny Car. Everything was in his favour as Morris cranked out a new low e.t. of the meet at 5.589, at 251.49 mph for the win. Jurado gave it all he had in a losing cause, cranking out top speed of the meet at 262.18, coupled with a very good 5.662 e.t., but it wasn't quite enough to hold off Morris.

The latest update as of October 22, 2022

FUNNY CAR CHAOS Championship Finale - Texas Motorplex

After three rounds of qualifying on Friday, eliminations kicked off Saturday afternoon with just 30 cars left in competition. Of the original 48 pre=entries, the field shrunk to 39 cars that made qualifying attempts, and two of them never recorded an e.t. When the ladders were drawn up for eliminations, a total of nine cars showed up broken, leaving two empty spots in the "D" field.

Despite the losses, the "A" field was very strong, ranging from low qualifier Kirk Williams (3.65) to Aaron Morrow, in the #8 spot at 3.83. Topping the "B" field were two 3-second cars, Smiley Cordero with a 3.93 and Clay Cunningham at 3.98. In the #8 spot in that field was Tim Cullinan at 4.07. In the "C" field, e.t.'s ranged from Terry Haddock's 4.26 to Jordan Ballew's 4.39, making for a very tight grouping. Rounding out the show were the "D" field, with Mitch King on top at 4.43 and just one car out of the 4's, Chuck Loftin at 5.95.

Our usual photographer Bob Snyder, and his wife Ginger were stationed deep in the shutdown area for the first round so we'll start our eliminations coverage with images provided by our Colorado correspondent Dale Fackler. Before that though, we have a couple of pre-race photos (from Bob Snyder) to share.

SATURDAY - Pre-Race Ceremonies

(LEFT) It wouldn't be Texas if there wasn't a group of Cowgirls holding a "Stampede of Speed" banner.

(RIGHT) Being introduced to the crowd by the Funny Car Chaos roving reporter is the (now retired) three-time series champion, Ken Singleton, who experienced a horffic and life-altering fire at the season opener at the Motorplex. Everyone was very glad to see him looking well, despite his injuries, and able to participate in the event.

SATURDAY - Eliminations - Round ONE

We lead off eliminations coverage with the "A" field, the eight quickest qualifiers running heads-up, with no breakout.

Doug Schneider - 'Milliken Monster' (near lane) vs
Steve Griboski - 'Mile-High Express' (far lane)

Mike Newkirk - 'Disturbed' (near lane) vs
Nick Poloson - 'Bucket List' (far lane)

(LEFT) First out of the chute was Doug Schneider in his unlettered "Milliken Monster" (near lane), and he followed up a great 3.69 qualifier with a pasting of Steve Griboski in his beautiful new early Mustang-bodied "Mile-High Express" (far lane). Schneider's great 3.752 - 194.95 easily trainlengthed Griboski's early shutoff 4.854 - 106.66 effort.

(RIGHT) Improving on his qualifying numbers, Mike Newkirk, driving his "Disturbed", (near lane), laid down low e.t. of the round at 3.712 - 203.98 to easily dispose of Nick Poloson in the "Bucket List" (far lane). Poloson could only muster a 5.842 - 73.44 in a losing cause.

(LEFT) We finish off the first round of the "A" field with Aaron Morrow in the re-bodied (originally a Fuel Altered) "Nitro Relapse", in the near lane, paired up with Kirk Williams, barely visible in the far lane. Williams took the win with a very strong 3.713 - 209.24 over Morrow's fading 4.272 - 136.79 pass.

(RIGHT) Starting the "B" field, Shayne Lawson in the Mustang-bodied "Man O' War" getting some last-second attention from his wife as she de-ices the injector before he pulls into the stage lights.

Shayne Lawson - 'Man O' War' (near lane) vs
Smiley Cordero - 'Maximum Overdrive' (far lane)

Tom Furches - 'Made in America' (near lane) vs
Ronny Young - 'Blue Max' (far lane)

(LEFT) When the ambers flashed, Shayne Lawson (near lane) left first (.071 to .173 lights) on Smiley Cordero in the "Maximum Overdrive" (far lane). Lawson turned on the winlight with a great 3.994 - 189.46, as Cordero gave up early to a 4.700 - 108.04 clocking.

(RIGHT) The next pairing saw Tom Furches in the Corvette-bodied "Made in America" (near lane), matched against veteran Ronny Young in the Arrow-bodied "Blue Max" tribute car (far lane). Young got to the finish line first, BUT with an index (3.73) in place, he broke out with low e.t. of the entire meet at 3.649 - 204.42 saw it all go for naught, as Furches took the win with an on-and-off 4.618 - 174.08 timeslip.

Clay Cunningham - 'Still Crazy' (near lane) vs
Mary Reep - 'Grim Reeper' (far lane)

Don Knoblauch - 'Atomic Punk' (near lane) vs
Tim Cullinan - 'Irish Car Bomb' (far lane)

(LEFT) The next pair featured Clay Cunningham in the "Still Crazy" entry (near lane) versus Mary Reep in her purple hued "Grim Reeper" (far lane), and Mary took the automatic win as Cunningham redlighted, making her very good 3.823 - 191.01 the winning number. Clay kept his foot in it to the tune of a 4.416 - 170.53 for the loss.

(RIGHT) It appears that Don Knoblauch launched his "Atomic Punk" (near lane) second in this match with Tim Cullinan's kelly green "Irish Car Bomb" (far lane). That's exactly what happened as Cullinan left on Knoblaiuch by a full tenth (.113 to .222), and was able to hold off the "Punk's" quicker 3.967 - 187.55 pass with a solid, and winning, 4.004 - 178.42 to advance to the semifinal round.

(LEFT) Kicking off the opening round for the "C" field was Keith Jackson in the iconic Colorado-based "High Heaven". He drew a bye run as scheduled opponent Matt Nissen in the "Razzle Dazzle" entry was unable to show. With no breakout in place for the bye run, Jackson leaned on it hard to the tune of a great 3.893 - 168.54, which had to be a near career best e.t.

(RIGHT) Occasional FCC competitor, and long-distance racer, Sweden's Joe Ljungberg brought out the California-based "Raw Valley" car and turned a decent 4.491 - 160.50. However, it wasn't enough to take the winlight as Dustin Bradford (not shown), got there first with a 4.199 - 162.28 pass.

Chuck Loftin - 'Motivation' (near lane) vs
Mitch King - 'Bone Shaker' (far lane)

(LEFT) Still wearing several hats, running an NHRA Top Fuel & Funny Car and a Nostalgia flopper, Terry Haddock took a first round win in his old-style Vega-bodied "Fool's Errand". His 4.162 - 181.58 was quick enough to overcome a serious holeshot (.039 to .195) by Jordan Ballew (not shown). The margin at the finish line was about two car lengths as Ballew's 4.408 -161.73 just wasn't enough to stay in front of Haddock's much quicker effort.

(RIGHT) The "D' field ended up with just six cars, and one (Jody Austin) failed to show for the first round. The only close pairing of the round featured Chuck Loftin in his ultra-familiar "Motivation" Mustang (near lane), versus series debutante Mitch King in his Chevy II-bodied "Bone Shaker" (far lane). Loftin left first by a .155 to .219 margin, but his 4.676 - 141.23 wasn't quite enough to hold off King's winning 4.590 - 146.37. The margin at the stripe was barely half a car length in the closest race of the entire first round.

OUTLAW FUEL ALTEREDS - Qualifying Round #2

A total of 16 cars were on the property and punished themselves in a wild qualifying session on Friday night. Their final qualifying round on Saturday afternoon ran immediately following the first round of Funny Car Chaos eliminations. Here's some of the action from that session.

Seeing the 2022 Outlaw Fuel Altered Association championship almost within his grasp, defending series champion Keith Zimmerer laid down a hard burnout in his "Penny Pincher" entry (left), before launching to a low qualifying 3.802 elapsed time.

(LEFT) The Cross & Meyer "Crossways" entry, driven by Clint Cross dipped into the 3-second zone with a solid 3.90 qualifying pass, good enough for #6 on the ladder/.

(RIGHT) Falling on the other side of the spectrum, Donny McSwain was only able to coax a 4.74 e.t. from the "Wild One" to sit near the bottom of the list in the #12 spot.

(LEFT) Launching hard with the front tires dangling, Rick Lewelling ended up further down the charts as the "Midnight Special" was only able to muster a 4.95 elapsed time.

(RIGHT) It was a serious case of smoking the tires for James Gilliland as the Wilkens & Gilliland "Psycho Too" shut off almost immediately and coasted to a 13.80 time to sit at the very bottom of the field in the #16 slot.

SATURDAY - Eliminations - Round TWO (Semi-Finals)

With three photographers at the starting line for this round, we've got various views of each pairing.

Mike Newkirk - 'Disturbed' (near lane) vs Doug Schneider - 'Milliken Monster' (far lane)

Doug Schneider - 'Milliken Monster' (near lane) vs Mike Newkirk - 'Disturbed' (far lane)

(LEFT) After running low e.t. of the first round (in the "A" field), Mike Newkirk (near lane), faced the "Milliken Monster" of Coloradan Doug Schneider in the far lane. Despite cutting a great .013 light, Schneider's tires broke loose immediately, and he pedalled to a losing 5.704 - 99.16 pass. Keeping up his 3.70 pace, Newkirk blasted into the final round with a great 3.773 - 200.80 in his Dodge Avenger-bodied entry.

(RIGHT)

Lance Van Hauen - 'Van Hauen Brothers Racing' (near lane) vs Kirk Williams - '200 Proof' (far lane)

Kirk Williams - '200 Proof' (near lane) vs Lance Van Haeun - 'Van Hauen Brothers Racing (far lane)

(LEFT) The other semifinal pitted the #1 and #3 qualifiers in what promised to be a great matchup. Lance Van Hauen in the Camaro-bodied "Van Hauen Brothers" entry (near lane) left first by a few thousandths on Kirk Williams and the nearly invincible "200 Proof" Firebird in the far lane. The cars were neck-and-neck past the 330' mark, and the gap at the finish line was less than two car lengths as Williams made his quickest pass of eliminations at 3.677 - 209.44 to take the win over a close 3.768 - 204.42 from Van Hauen.

(RIGHT)

Shayne Lawson - 'Man O' War' (near lane) vs Tim Cullinan - 'Irish Car Bomb' (far lane)

Tim Cullinan - 'Irish Car Bomb' (near lane) vs Shayne Lawson - 'Man O' War' (far lane)

(LEFT) In the first pair of the "B" field semifinal, Shayne Lawson (near lane) really got on top of the "Man O' War" tuneup, with input from Ken Singleton, and made his quickest run of the event at 3.848 - 193.15 to light up the scoreboards. On the losing end was Tim Cullinan in the "Irish Car Bomb" (far lane), who gave it a good try with a consistent, but losing 4.100 - 185.45 time.

(RIGHT)

Tom Furches - 'Made in America' (near lane) vs Mary Reep - 'Grim Reeper' (far lane)

Mary Reep - 'Grim Reeper' (near lane) vs Tom Furches - 'Made in America' (far lane)

(LEFT) Qualifying wasn't great for Tom Furches as his "Made in America" Corvette (near lane) landed near the bottom of the "B" field. He got past the first round with a lucky break when Ronny Young broke out, but even his best of the weekend 4.032 - 170.47 wasn't enough in this race. Veteran Mary Reep in her purple-hued "Grim Reeper" Mustang, in the far lane, belted out a 3.929 - 178.54 for the win and a ticket to the final round. Despite a second-best reaction time (.133 to .045 for Furches), she pulled out a car length victory.

(RIGHT)

Alex Barker - 'Back in Black' (near lane) vs Keith Jackson - 'High Heaven' (far lane)

Keith Jackson - 'High Heaven' (near lane) vs Alex Barker - 'Back in Black' (far lane)

(LEFT) The first pair of the "C" field semifinal featured Alex Barker, partially obscured in the near lane, against Keith Jackson in the very familiar "High Heaven" Camaro in the far lane. Barker left first by four hundredths, and increased his lead going down the track, stopping the timers with a winning 4.264 - 167.86 to advance the GTO to the final round. Falling short was the good effort of 4.352 - 122.22 by Jackson, as he slowed in the last two hundred feet.

(RIGHT)

Terry Haddock - 'Fool's Errand' (near lane) vs Dustin Bradford - 'American Dream' (far lane)

Dustin Bradford - 'American Dream' (near lane) vs Terry Haddock - 'Fool's Errand' (far lane)

(LEFT) Everybody's favourite "hard trier" Terry Haddock in his "Fool's Errand" Vega (near lane), gave up too much real estate on the starting line, as his .180 light paled in comparison to Dustin Bradford's .061 in the far lane. The "American Dream" Challenger didn't really need that much of an advantage as Bradford outran Haddock at both ends of the track for a 4.166 - 162.73 win over a trailing 4.229 - 178.33 time.

(RIGHT)

(LEFT) The only pairing of the semifinal in the "D" field had Chance Biffle, seen here burning out in his "Bad Intentions" entry.

(RIGHT) Facing him was last year's Rookie of The Year, Jade Cook in her nitrous-boosted Chevy-powered Dodge-bodied "Nemesis".

Chance Biffle - 'Bad Intentions' (near lane) vs Jade Cook - 'Nemesis' (far lane)

Cook ran a much quicker e.t. at 4.275 - 160.19 to Biffle's 4.506 - 161.30, but something went very wrong for her on the starting line as a .554 reaction time was her undoing. To add insult to injury, Biffle cut down the tree with an .015 light, the second quickest of eliminations.

(LEFT & RIGHT) As the #1 qualifier in the "D" field, Mitch King earned the semi-final bye run in his "Bone Shaker" entry, and he simply took the tree (staged) and shut off to save parts and fuel for the final round.

SATURDAY - Eliminations - FINAL Rounds

Starting with the "D" field and working their way up to the "Stars of the Show", the "A" field, here are the final rounds.

Mitch King - 'Bone Shaker' (near lane) vs Chance Biffle - 'Bad Intentions' (far lane)

Chance Biffle - 'Bad Intentions' (near lane) vs Mitch King - 'Bone Shaker' (far lane)

Mitch King - 'Bone Shaker' vs Chance Biffle - 'Bad Intentions'

Alex Barker - 'Back in Black' (near lane) vs Dustin Bradford - 'American Dream' (far lane)

Dustin Bradford - 'American Dream' (near lane) vs Alex Barker - 'Back in Black' (far lane)

Alex Barker - 'Back in Black' vs Dustin Bradford - 'American Dream'

Shayne Lawson - "Man O' War"

Mike Newkirk - 'Disturbed' (near lane) vs Kirk Williams - '200 Proof' (far lane)

Mike Newkirk - 'Disturbed' vs Kirk Williams - '200 Proof'

Keith Zimmerer - 'Penny Pincher' (near lane) vs Jimmy Jones - 'Texas Tremor' (far lane)

Closing out the on-track action were a pair of Jet Dragsters that lit up the early evening sky, and got the spectators revved up for the concert and after-party.

The latest update as of October 17, 2022

TAD & TAFC Championship Points Standings

TAD Championship Points - October 17, 2022

Going into the Texas NHRA FallNationals, there were five drivers in contention for the National (World) Championship. Following the event, there are still five drivers in that championship battle. However, one of Joey Severance's perennial challengers, Shawn Cowie, lost in the first round of eliminations at Dallas, and saw his chances take a serious hit. Severance also lost in that opening round, but he still holds the high ground as #2 Matt Cummings only gained 11 points with his semi-final finish.

The big gainer was Jasmine Salinas, as she took the event win, her second of the season, and moved past Cowie into third place, tied with Cummings and both just 31 points behind Severance. Cowie's chances are getting very slim and he needs to advance to the final round at Las Vegas and Pomona to have any chance of taking that ever-elusive championship. For his part, Severance can wrap up the title if he can win Las Vegas next weekend.

TAFC Championship Points - October 17, 2022

There were five drivers in the Funny Car championship chase before the Dallas event, but just four coming out of Texas. Falling early in eliminations (second round loss) was Matt Gill, as he saw his hopes evaporate in the glow of a redlight start. All of points leader Shane Westerfield's pursuers did close the gap on him somewhat as Westerfield also redlit in that second round at Dallas.

Making the biggest gain, and advancing from third to second place in the standings, was defending champion Sean Bellemeur and the Killer B's team. After a slow start to the season, he won the Texas FallNationals, his fifth consecutive final round appearance at a national event this season. That win brought him to just 52 points in arrears of Westerfield, BUT he only has ONE event left to claim points. He has to win the Nevada Nationals (Las Vegas) AND the following week's regional event at The Strip to overtake Westerfield.

Currently in third place is D.J. Cox Jr., making his first really serious attempt at the championship, and he has the same daunting task as Bellemeur, namely, win two consecutive events. Cox has to win both Las Vegas and Pomona to have any chance of passing Westerfield though. In fourth place currently is 2020 champion Doug Gordon and he, surprisingly, has a better chance to take the championship than Bellemeur and Cox.

Gordon started the 2022 season strongly, with three consecutive national event wins (Vegas, Houston, and Norwalk), coupled with three straight regional victories (Vegas, Dallas, and St. Louis). That left him with the possibility of a "perfect" season (winning six national and four national events) going into Dallas. However, a second round loss at that event saw him lose ground in the points chase. One factor in Gordon's favour is that he has one first round loss and one second round loss at national events that he can waive if he can get to the later rounds at Vegas and Pomona. An additional bonus is that he has a second round loss at a regional event that is waiveable if he can get to the final round at the Las Vegas regional (the week after the national event).

All these possible scenarios will almost certainly make for a thrilling last three weeks in the NHRA season and some must-watch racing, on TV or the internet... or even better: in person at the races.

The latest update as of October 16, 2022

NHRA Countdown to the Championship Standings

TF-FC Countdown Points - October 16, 2022

PS-PSM Countdown Points - October 16, 2022

The latest update as of October 11, 2022

FUNNY CAR CHAOS Championship Finale - Texas Motorplex

We've got some of the first qualifying session photos worked on, but it's going to take all week... and then some to get through all the photos and dig up all the numbers from two days of awesome racing action at the 2022 FUNNY CAR CHAOS championship finale. We had, for the first time ever, (at least for this website) THREE photographers on hand and our inbox has been plugged full of images for the past two days. And that's just the stuff from Friday's three qualifying sessions! Yes, there's definitely more, much more to come.

Captions and details are going to take a while to fill in, but here's the first session photos from Bob Snyder. They will be followed, and accompanied by shots taken by Dale Fackler and Ginger Snyder. NOTE: FCC only publishes the qualifying results after the second session, so we don't know whether e.t.'s and speeds quoted below are from the first or second session.(We could find out if we subscribed to the FloRacing.com coverage of the FCC series, but we're spending (much) more than enough on media subscriptions already.

FRIDAY - Qualifying Session #1

Before the first qualifying session got underway, there was a special presentation on the starting line to acknowledge the 2022 FUNNY CAR CHAOS Champion Kirk Williams and the Williams Brothers Racing team for a tremendously successful season of racing.

FCC Founder Chris Graves with Williams Bros. TA/FC

(LEFT) Funny Car Chaos Founder and President Chris Graves with the Williams Brothers Racing Top Alcohol Funny Car.

(RIGHT) The entire Williams Brothers Racing team and car posing with the BIG 2022 FCC Series Championship cheque.

Vic Tiffin - 'Golddigger' (near lane) vs
Wayne Hofmann - 'China Syndrome' (far lane)

(LEFT) Leading off the first session was occasional NHRA Top Fuel racer Mitch King in his new '67 Chevy "Bone Shaker" entry. His 4.443 - 154.44 was a decent start to his FCC career.

(RIGHT) The first pairing we can show features Vic Tiffin in the Tiffin & Hess "Golddigger" (near lane) facing Wayne Hofmann in his now-familiar Omni-bodied "China Syndrome" (far lane). Neither driver carded a timelsip that would place them in the qualifying field, with Tiffin's 4.615 - 135.26 being slightly better than Hofmann's 5.653 - 80.44 effort.

(LEFT) Up next was Matt Nissen in the "Razzle Dazzle" and he put down a solid 4.335 - 165.04 to provisionally grab a spot in the "D" field.

(RIGHT) Another racer with trouble right out of the box was series regular Chuck Loftin in the Billy Meyer tribute "Motivation" Mustang. His 5.957 - 106.78 left him near the bottom (#37) of the heap.

Jordan Ballew - 'Ballew Thunder' (near lane) vs
Nick Poloson - 'Bucket List' (far lane)

(LEFT) Seen laying down a hard burnout is Jordan Ballew in the "Ballew Thunder" Camaro.

(RIGHT) Ballew, in the near lane left first on Nick Poloson in the "Bucket List" (far lane), but Poloson turned on the horsepower in the blown fuel car, posting a very quick 3.813 - 194.97 to easily cover Ballew's 4.397 - 162.12 effort.

(LEFT) Cory McClenathan - 'Mac Attack'

(RIGHT) Cory McClenathan - 'Mac Attack' (near lane) vs Smiley Cordero - 'Maximum Overdrive' (far lane)

(LEFT) Clay Cunningham - 'Still Crazy'

(RIGHT) Clay Cunningham - 'Still Crazy' (near lane) vs Shane Blanton - 'Bad Company' (far lane)

(LEFT) Keith Jackson - 'High Heaven'

(RIGHT) Joe Ljungberg - 'Raw Valley'

Keith Jackson - 'High Heaven' (near lane) vs
Joe Ljungberg - 'Raw Valley' (far lane)

(LEFT) Keith Jackson - 'High Heaven' (near lane) vs Joe Ljungberg - 'Raw Valley' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Dustin Bradford - 'American Dream' (near lane) vs Doug Schneider - 'Milliken Monster' (far lane)

(LEFT) Kirk Williams - '200 Proof'

(RIGHT) Steve Griboski - 'Mile-High Express'

(LEFT) Alex Barker - 'Back in Black'

(RIGHT) Don Knoblauch - 'Atomic Punk'

(LEFT) Mike Newkirk - 'Disturbed'

(RIGHT) Tom Furches - 'Made in America' (near lane) vs Mike Newkirk - 'Disturbed' (far lane)

Aaron Morrow - 'Nitro Relapse' (near lane) vs
Ronny Young - 'Blue Max' (far lane)

(LEFT) Aaron Morrow - 'Nitro Relapse' (near lane) vs Ronny Young - 'Blue Max' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Aaron Morrow - 'Nitro Relapse' (near lane) vs Ronny Young - 'Blue Max' (far lane)

(LEFT) Chance Biffle - 'Bad Intentions'

(RIGHT) Chance Biffle - 'Bad Intentions' (near lane) vs Terry Haddock - 'Fool's Errand' (far lane)

(LEFT) Tim Cullinan - 'Irish Car Bomb'

(RIGHT) Tim Cullinan - 'Irish Car Bomb' (near lane) vs Jeff Cameron - 'Jake's Speed Shop' (far lane)

Jody Austin - 'Bushwhacker' (near lane) vs
Brad Tuttle - 'Nitro Bandit' (far lane)

(LEFT) Jody Austin - 'Bushwhacker' (near lane) vs Brad Tuttle - 'Nitro Bandit' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Shayne Lawson - 'Man O' War' (near lane) vs Lance Van Hauen - 'VHB Racing' (far lane)

(LEFT) Chris Schneider - 'Brutus'

(RIGHT) Mary Reep - 'Grim Reeper'

Jade Cook - 'Nemesis' (near lane) vs Daniel
Butherus - 'Rat-A-Tude' (far lane)

(LEFT) Jade Cook - 'Nemesis' (near lane) vs Daniel Butherus - 'Rat-A-Tude' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Terry Totten - 'Rednecks 'n Fuel'

The latest update as of October 10, 2022

TAD & TAFC Championship Points Standings

TAD Championship Points - October 10, 2022

TAFC Championship Points - October 10, 2022

The latest update as of October 2, 2022

NHRA Countdown to the Championship Standings

TF-FC Countdown Points - October 2, 2022

PS-PSM Countdown Points - October 2, 2022

The latest update as of September 24, 2022

Saturday Report - Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals

The final Top Alcohol qualifying session has just ended and there were some big moves in the dragster category. At the start of the session, the bump spot was a decent, but not great, 5.548, held by Dan Dietrich. That number was erased in the first pairing, as Jeff Veale (5.287) and Alan Bradshaw (5.295), both jumped from outside the show to the middle of the pack. The bubble then stood at 5.482. It didn't last long though, as the next car down the track, Tom Fox Jr. laid down a solid 5.420 to move the bump spot down another notch, this time to Megan Smith's earlier 5.475 effort from Friday.

But it didn't stop there, as Mick "Real Deal" Steele bumped out Smith with a 5.419, putting Fox on the bump spot. And they weren't finished yet, as the final pair of now non-qualified cars, Megan Smith and John Ausherman were out next and both fought their way into the field at 5.358 and 5.384 respectively. That ended the bump-a-thon and set the final qualifying bar at Ausherman's very good 5.384 - 277.83 pass.

The latest update as of September 23, 2022

Friday Report - Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals

For the third consecutive national event, there are 21 Top Alcohol Dragsters in the pits. The only other race this year that's seen that sort of participation was the NHRA Four-Wide Nationals at Las Vegas in April. OOPS! It appears that one racer, Dan Page hasn't made a pass yet, and can only be presumed to not be in attendance. Still, it's a full field, and after the second of three qualifying sessions, the bump spot is a decent 5.548, with three usually strong runners sitting on the outside going into tomorrow's final qualifying session.

A note of interest, at least as far as the championship battles go, is that Joey Severance and Jasmine Salinas have both waived this event. Those waivers are a new feature of Pro Sportsman racing for 2022, which allows a racer to waive an event - before the first qualifying begins. With just three more national events on the schedule, it allows Severance a chance to claim points at more familiar race tracks. Although he went to the final round here in first appearance at ZMAX in 2018, he failed to get past the second round at his two races here last season.

Jasmine Salinas, on the other hand, was runnerup at the spring 4-wide race here in April, but she's down to just two more races before she runs out of points earning opporunities on the national event trail. She has two more chances to gain points in Lucas Oil Series regional events, and in her position, #4, she needs to maximize any points she can earn.

In the Top Alcohol Funny Car pits, there's quite a bit more elbow room, with just 12 cars on the grounds. And of those dozen cars, #10 on the list, seldom seen Melinda Green-King is in with a solid 5.714 - 254.52 on her first session effort. At the top of the field are four of the strongest cars in the category, with three of them fighting it out for the national championship. In the #1 spot is the Swedish team of the Leanders brothers, with Ulf driving. His first session 5.439 - 267.53 is just a few fractions ahead of Sean Bellemeur's very good 5.453 and D.J. Cox Jr.'s almost as good 5.458 pass.

The current points leader, Shane Westerfield ran well on his first attempt with a 5.498 - 268.65, but a blower backfire on his second shot left him in the #4 spot going into the final session. The other championship contender here, Bob McCosh Jr. sits in #6 with a good 5.512, but he's close to running out of chances to close the 139-point gap to first place in the standings. It's obviously a make-or-break weekend for McCosh and Bellemeur, who's run strong lately but has had a few hiccups through the season.

The latest update as of September 19, 2022

Monday Morning Musings

The first of six events in the NHRA Countdown to The Championship was completed at Maple Grove Raceway yesterday. The Pep Boys NHRA Nationals saw good weather all weekend, but Sunday's eliminations was littered with tire smoking/shaking runs for both the Pros and Pro Sportsman racers. There were some upsets, some great runs from unexpected sources, and as always, some very close races. The points standings in all categories saw adjustments; some minor, some major.

With the re-settting of the PRO points following the U.S. Nationals, the gap between the top and bottom was tightened, but after one race in the countdown, the gaps have again widened, considerably, to more than 200 points in Funny Car and Pro Stock, and no less than 137 (Pro Stock Motorcycle). However, that gap between #1 and #10 for the bikes comes with a serious caveat, in that they only have four more events in their season. The Pro Stock Motorcycle class is not being run at this week's Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals at Charlotte NC's ZMAX Dragway.

Top Fuel

Third generation fuel racer Austin Prock rebounded from a miserable stretch of five consecutive first-round losses, and a season littered with a class "leading" 90 oil-down penalty points. Young Mr. Prock marched through eliminations with a trio of 3.70 passes, and one pedalling win over veteran Antron Brown. Facing Prock in the final was the new points leader, Justin Ashley, and the two young guns engaged in a very close race, decided by just FOUR thousandths of a second in Prock's favour.

The points leader going into Maple Grove, Brittany Force, lost in the second round and fell to second, just nine points behind Ashley and one point in front of #3 Mike Salinas. The semi-finalist at Reading, Antron Brown picked up two spots on the ladder, from #6 to #4 and now sits just 4 points behind Ashley. The biggest gainer was obviously Austin Prock, who zoomed from #12 to #6, just 74 points out of first place after the first event of the countdown. On the losing side of the ledger were first round runner-ups, Josh Hart, Shawn Langdon, and Tony Schumacher, who all dropped two spots on the list.

Funny Car

The standings didn't change at the top, as season-long leader Robert Hight continued his domination of the class with his seventh victory of the season, four more than anyone else.

TAD & TAFC Championship Points Standings

TAD Championship Points - September 19, 2022

TAFC Championship Points - September 19, 2022

The latest update as of September 16, 2022

Friday Morning Musings - Pep Boys NHRA Nationals

As the first Top Alcohol qualifying session gets underway at Maple Grove Raceway, the conditions are prime for the alky burners, with 1500 ft. of corrected altitude, 70 (F) air temp and moderate humidity. The 12 Funny Cars are out first, followed by the 21-car field of dragsters, with eight running on alcohol, and 13 on nitro. That's the best turnout of blown cars at a national event this season, and possibly a sign that the supercharged on methanol option is still a viable player in today's drag racing world.

With the announcement last month of an injected on nitro option for Top "Alcohol" Funny Car in 2023, we may be seeing at least the first inkling of the "sunsetting" of the blown alky combination in Top Alcohol. I sincerely hope that isn't the case, but the numbers don't lie, and for the last few years the number of blown competitors in the dragster ranks has steadily shrunk. This year, of the 70 drivers that have competed in the class, only 18 have run a supercharged car. And of those 18, less than half a dozen are truly competitive; ie, capable of winning a national event.

After a short, 11 car session of Funny Car, the last pair showed what the track and the racers were capable of. The early polesitter, Ulf Leanders, with a very good 5.493 - 265.06, saw those numbers blown into the weeds as D.J. Cox ripped off a 5.442 - 269.62 to just hold off Sean Bellemeur's almost as good 5.447 - 269.83 pass. The final tally showed three cars in the 5.40's, and one each in the .50's and 60's, as the numbers tailed off quickly.

In quite a surprise, the first dragster down the track set a career best e.t. (and probably speed) by a full tenth of a second, as Earl Nichols Jr. blasted out an excellent 5.234 - 274.83 to take the very early and very provisional #1 spot on the ladder. The next few pairs weren't even close to those numbers until Canada's Jeff Veale came close on e.t. with a solid 5.308 at a booming speed of 279.27 mph. While really quick e.t.'s aren't usually in his arsenal, his car does crank out big speeds on a regular basis.

We're more than halfway through the first session of dragster qualifying and at this point, with 12 cars having run, Nichols is still on top at 5.234, with Veale second at 5.308, Duane Shields in at 5.333. Below the top three, there are three cars in the 5.40's before the e.t.'s trail off rapidly. As the session wound down, Shawn Cowie could only manage a 5.350- 257.53 (early shutoff), that ultimately placed him #6 on the ladder after the first session. The final pair of the round set the #1 and #3 spots as Matt Cummings broke into the teens with a best of the round 5.197 - 272.67 in the McPhillips Family car, while Jasmine Salinas (also tuned by McPhillips), took the third rung with a solid 5.288 - 268.92 pass.

Friday Afternoon/Evening Report - Pep Boys NHRA Nationals

Today's second qualifying session for the Top Alcohol cars saw some serious performance improvements for many of the teams, despite slightly degraded (+ 500 ft) density altitude readings and warmer air temps (+ 5 degrees). There were some serious misses too, with #1 qualifier, Matt Cummings suffering instant tire shake and coasting to a 17-second clocking. Usually hard-running Taylor Vetter picked up nearly two seconds over her earlier 17-second pass, but ended the session at the bottom of the ladder in the #21 slot.

On the other hand, "Real Deal" Mick Steele charged to a solid 5.345 - 272.83, moving up eleven spots in the order, and in the next pair, Jackie Fricke jumped all the way to #3 with a very strong 5.243 - 276.69 timeslip. She was knocked back one position late in the session as Shawn Cowie picked up more than a tenth from his earlier 5.350, and took the third spot with a great 5.238 - 275.84 in his blown alky entry.

The Alcohol Funny Cars were on the upswing too, with almost every car, of the 10 that appeared, running 5.72 or better. The exception was #2 qualifier Sean Bellemeur who launched into a wheelstand, then bounced the rear tires off the track when the car came down, as he shut off to a 9.80 at 88 mph. D. J. Cox Jr. showed some serious bracket racing skills by equalling his first session effort - to the thousandth of a second - with a 5.442 - 269.08 to keep a firm grip on the top spot. Joining the 5.40 club was Bob McCosh Jr., who laid down a 5.498 - 267.59 to hold onto the #4 position.

When the Nitro cars came out, just before sunset, the altitude readings were just under 2000 ft., track temp was 105 (F) and air temp 75 (F). Good conditions for some seriously quick and fast runs, and the Funny Cars took advantage to ring up ten sub 4-second runs, including seven of the last eight cars to run. Leading the way, as he has so often this season was Robert Hight with a 3.867 - 331.20, just a little quicker and faster than his boss, John Force. Taking the #2 spot with a very good 3.890 - 329.99 was Force, who was a hair quicker than top speed setter Ron Capps, who laid down a 3.891 at a booming 334.90 mph.

Following in their tire tracks, the Top Fuel contingent saw some very good, but not outstanding runs, with the quickest being Justin Ashley's 3.703 - 330.55. He was closely followed by Mike Salinas at 3.705, Austin Prock with a 3.706, and Steve Torrence at 3.711. The top eight cars were all in at 3.764 or better, but smoking tires slowed usual front runners Brittany Force (6.617), Josh Hart (6.278), Antron Brown (6.472), and Shawn Langdon (6.352).

Two nice performances came from the first pair out of the staging lanes as Canadian Top Fuel rookie Jeff Chatterson (Brantford, ON) put down a very creditable 3.927 - 310.48 in his first competition pass. Chatterson was driving the Paton Family car, that last saw action with Todd Paton driving at the Arizona Nationals earlier in the year. Running alongside Chatterson was New Jersey's Joe Morrison who ran a career best e.t and speed at 3.903 - 313.58, in only his 12th national event.

The Pro Stock Motorcycles were enjoying the good air, with three bikes over 200 mph in their first session, topped by points leader Matt Smith's speed of 201.55. He was one of five riders in the 6.70's, led by his wife, Angie Smith's 6.757 e.t. Further down the list were seven more racers in the 6.80's, and two more in the 6.90's.

With 20 Pro Stock cars in the pits, their first session saw a plethora of 6.50 runs, with the #12 qualifier (Mason McGaha) clocking in at 6.576, closely followed by four drivers in the low 6.60's, culminating in the #16 qualifier (Fernando Caudra) at 6.635. In addition, the first two alternates weren't far behind, at 6.65 and 6.68. All in all, a very good opening performance by the "Factory Hot Rods".

The latest update as of September 15, 2022

Top Alcohol Dragster & Funny Car Championship Chase

With the season moving into the home stretch, it's time to start posting the championship "chase" standings for the Top Alcohol classes. To give some background, we've got the standings as of August 23rd, followed by the latest numbers as of September 12. You'll note that in the span of three weeks, nearly half of the Top 20 racers in each category have been mathematically eliminated from contention.

Those eliminated have a coloured background for their "possible" final points totals. The yellow background highlights which future national events each racer has entered. And the XXX in event boxes indicates there is no chance for the racer to attend any further events. With the season rapidly winding down, and just five national and four regional events remaining, the chances to catch up, or pass, the leaders are becoming more remote each week. Following this weekend's national event at Reading, PA's newly refurbished Maple Grove Raceway (the Pep Boys NHRA Nationals), we'll post updated standings and in all probability, eliminate anyone below the Top Ten.

Click on the tables to see a larger (and easier to read) version

August 23, 2022 standings

TAD Championship Points - August 23, 2022

TAFC Championship Points - August 23, 2022

September 12, 2022 standings

TAD Championship Points - September 12, 2022

TAFC Championship Points - September 12, 2022

The biggest change between the two tables is at the top, as Joey Severance re-took the points lead over Matt Cummings, following Joey's win at the Acton, MT regional race and his tour-de-force at the U.S. Nationals. Severance went to the semi-finals in the event, and the final round in the concurrent Jeg's All-Stars race within a race. All told, he made nine runs over the weekend, so it appears that he's taking the next few weeks off before re-joining the tour at the Texas FallNationals in early October.

Cummings wasn't sitting idle as he picked up a runnerup at last week's Earlville, IA regional event, to go with his second round finish at Indy. He does hold a slight advantage over Severance, with just six national events on his card, compared to Severance's seven. Offsetting that perceived advantage is the 10 points Severance earned for a non-qualifying performance at his home track (Woodburn, OR) in early July. He will in all likelihood run his final regional event at Las Vegas on the second-to-last weekend of the season, and could gain as many as 75 points in the process. In comparison, Cummings can only gain a possible 53 points if he can win at the final East Regional (Richmond, VA) at the end of the end of this month.

Lurking in 3rd place, just 43 points behind Severance is Jasmine Salinas in the McPhillips Family tuned "Scrappers Racing" entry. She's had an interesting season, with a win at the Gatornationals and two more victories at regional events, leaving her in position to overtake either of the top two runners if they falter going down the stretch. The #4 (Julie Nataas) and #5 (Jackie Fricke) racers are not too far back but their potential points totals pale when compared to the leaders and they will need some strong performances in the final races to move into championship contention.

Then we come to #6 on the list, Canada's Shawn Cowie in the always-in-the-hunt "Mundie's Towing" blown alcohol dragster. After wearing the #2 on his wing for four consecutive years, he fell to #3 last year as a series of setbacks, on and off the track, cost the team in the late stages of the season. Coming out of a very personally trying time over the winter, when his father and major presence for the team sadly lost a long and hard-fought battle with cancer, Cowie has worked his way back into the championship conversation.

Four final round appearances, two of them winning, in regional competition, and a win at the Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals (Brainerd, MN) has steadily moved him up in the standings after a very slow start to the season, with just two races (Las Vegas national and regional) on his ticket before winning the regional event at Denver in June. Since then, he's been steadily piling up the points and put up quite a fight at the U.S. Nationals before falling in the semi-finals.

LATE UPDATE: Joey Severance is on the entry list for the Betway NHRA Carolina Nationals. It's a little surprising, but on reflection, not really, as one of Severance's sponsors and engine parts supplier, Noonan Engineering is based in Spartanburg, SC, less than 100 miles from ZMAX Dragway. I'm sure that had something to do with his entry and it will be interesting to see what happens with five of the top six racers in the standings already entered. Entries close on Monday. Stay tuned for more updates then.

The latest update as of September 14, 2022

Mayhem On The Mountain - Bandimere Speedway - August 26 - 27

Held at Bandimere Speedway (Morrison, CO), the Mayhem On The Mountain event featured two evenings of nitro burning action, with four Funny Cars, (Keith Jackson, Lyle Greenberg, Levi Keenan & Steve Griboski), two Fuel Altereds (Johnny West and Dan Hix), and two Nostalgia Top Fuel Cars (Tyler Hilton and Michael Anderson). Backing up the fuel burners were some fast PSCA (Pacific Street Car Association) racers, a Quick 16 show, and a pair of Jet Cars.

Our photograher, Dale Fackler was able to snag some good vantage points for Friday night's action, courtesy of a crew pass from Lyle Greenberg, but as you'll see, he spent Saturday evening up in the grandstands. Still a good vantage point for some good nighttime racing. Dale also sent along the details on the racers, and some of the best e.t.'s and speeds to help us construct this report.

Friday

Keith Jackson - 'High Heaven' (near lane) vs
Levi Keenan - 'Illinois Thunder' (far lane)

(LEFT) Leading off on Friday night were Keith Jackson in the "High Heaven" Camaro in the near lane versus midwest racer Levi Keenan in the "Illinois Thunder" Omni in the far lane. We don't have the numbers for these cars but they did put on a good show with flames out of the pipes.

(RIGHT) Warming up the tires with a hard burnout is Albuquerque's Lyle Greenberg in his beauitful Corvette-boded "Cone Hunter" entry.

Lyle Greenberg - 'Cone Hunter' (near lane) vs
Steve Griboski - 'Mile-High Express' (far lane)

(LEFT) Pulling into the staging beams is Lyle Greenberg (near lane), while Steve Griboski in the "Mile-High Express" appears to be shut off on the far side. There's quite a story behind Griboski's new '65 Mustang-bodied car as it's a tribute to long-time Colorado Funny Car racer Jerry Green, who campaigned in the class from the 1970's until his passing in 2005. For a number of years, Griboski was the last driver for Green and now he's able to pay tribute to him with this nostalgia flopper.

(RIGHT) Leaving hard on his way to a 5-second, 240+ mph run is Lyle Greenberg. His best numbers of the weekend were a 5.83 - 246 mph, and backed up with a piston burning 5.84 - 240 mph pass.

Johnny West - 'Plan 'A' (near lane) vs
Dan Hix - 'Agent Orange' (far lane)

(LEFT) After the Funny Cars scorched the track, New Mexico's ageless nitro racer, Johnny West came out in his old-school style "Plan 'A'" 23-T roadster and laid down a burnout.

(RIGHT) Opposing West was Oregon's Dan Hix in the '34 Ford "Agent Orange" machine in the far lane. Getting to the finish line first with his best run of the event was Hix, stopping the clocks with a 5.89 e.t.

Coming up from Texas in his still new-ish Big-Block Chevy-powered front-engine Top Fuel car, Michael Anderson was the only dragster able to run, as scheduled opponent, Tyler Hilton, towed out from Ohio but was unable to make it to the staging lanes after damaging their only engine on the warmup.

Saturday

Steve Griboski - 'Mile-High Express' (near lane) vs
Keith Jackson - 'High Heaven' (far lane)

Having a much better evening, Steve Griboski in the "Mile-High Express" Mustang, in the near lane, laid down a great 5.92 - 240 mph on only the sixth pass on the car. Falling behind in the far lane was the Camaro-bodied entry of Colorado's Keith Jackson as the "High Heaven" couldn't keep pace.

Lyle Greenberg - 'Cone Hunter' (near lane) vs
Levi Keenan - 'Illinois Thunder' (far lane)

(LEFT) Seen backing up from their burnouts are Lyle Greenberg in the near lane in his "Cone Hunter" Corvette, matched up against Levi Keenan in the "Illinois Thunder" Omni in the far lane.

(RIGHT) And it looks like Greenberg ran unopposed as Keenan is nowhere to be seen in this starting line picture.

(LEFT) Victoria Johnson - T/D

(RIGHT) Tommy Johanns - 'Pit Mat Special'

(LEFT) Not-So-Quick 16

(RIGHT) Kevin Jaramillo

The latest update as of September 13, 2022

NITRO CHAOS - Mo-Kan Dragway - Saturday Eliminations

(LEFT) Full Grandstand

(RIGHT) Kebin Kinsley - 'War Wagon'

(LEFT) Joe Haas - 'American Way'

(RIGHT) Jody Austin - 'Bushwhacker' (near lane) vs Brian Inouye (far lane)

(LEFT) Nick Poloson - 'Bucket List'

(RIGHT) Scott Dominguez (near lane) vs Dave Gallegos - 'Nitro Clown' (far lane)

(LEFT) Julie Nataas - 'Randy Meyer Racing'

(RIGHT) Megan Meyer - 'Randy Meyer Racing'

Gary Wheeler (near lane) vs Anthony Whitfield -
'Mighty Mouse' (far lane)

Gary Wheeler (near lane) vs Anthony Whitfield - 'Mighty Mouse' (far lane)

Gary Wheeler (left) vs Anthony Whitfield - 'Mighty Mouse' (right)

(LEFT) Donnie Massey - 'Showtime'

(RIGHT) Dusty Hunt - 'Fuellish Addiction'

(LEFT) Chuck Loftin - 'Motivation'

(RIGHT) Nick Poloson - 'Bucket List'

The latest update as of September 12, 2022

NITRO CHAOS - Mo-Kan Dragway - Friday Qualifying

(LEFT) Dave Gallegos - 'Nitro Clown'

(RIGHT) Tod Barker - 'Back in Black'

(LEFT) Brian Inouye

(RIGHT) Julie Nataas - 'Randy Meyer Racing'

Mark Hunter - 'Jailbreak' (near lane) vs
Gary Wheeler (far lane)

Kebin Kinsley - 'War Wagon' (near lane) vs
Joe Haas -'American Way' (far lane)

(LEFT) Mark Hunter - 'Jailbreak' (near lane) vs Gary Wheeler (far lane)

(RIGHT) Kebin Kinsley - 'War Wagon' vs Joe Haas -'American Way' (far lane)

(LEFT) John Umaluf - 'Mass Chaos'

(RIGHT) James Gilliland - 'Psycho Too'

(LEFT) Donnie Massey - 'Showtime'

(RIGHT) Dusty Hunt - 'Fuellish Addiction' (near lane) vs Megan Meyer - 'Randy Meyer Racing' (far lane)

(LEFT) The Proud American

(RIGHT) Brewer's Peacemaker

(LEFT) Nick Poloson - 'Bucket List'

(RIGHT) Brian Inouye

(LEFT) Joe Haas - 'American Way'

(RIGHT) Mark Hunter - 'Jailbreak'

The latest update as of September 9, 2022

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Mo-Kan Dragway

Here's the photos from the first round of eliminations at Mo-Kan. We've got the semi-final and final photos downloaded but as always, time is the enemy of progress at Northern Thunder. If we don't get them all posted today, it will be finished tomorrow. Then all we have to do is fill in all the details to go with the images. Stay tuned!

Eliminations - Round One - "A" Field

Aaron Morrow - 'Nitro Relapse' (near lane) vs
Don Knoblauch - 'Atomic Punk' (far lane)

(LEFT) Aaron Morrow - 'Nitro Relapse' (near lane) vs Don Knoblauch - 'Atomic Punk' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Shayne Lawson - 'Man O' War' (near lane) vs Ronny Young - 'Blue Max' (far lane)

Kirk Williams - '200 Proof' (near lane) vs Clay Cunningham - 'Still Crazy' (far lane)

(LEFT) Jeff Cameron - 'Jake's Speed Shop'

(RIGHT) Lance Hauen - 'Van Hauen Bros.'

Eliminations - Round One - "B" Field

Anthony Whitfield - 'Mighty Mouse' (right lane)
vs Tom Furches - 'Made in America' (left lane)

(LEFT) Anthony Whitfield - 'Mighty Mouse' (right lane) vs Tom Furches - 'Made in America' (left lane)

(RIGHT) Levi Keenan - 'Illinois Thunder'

Dennis Rotter (right lane) vs
Bill Naves - 'Shooting Star' (left lane)

(LEFT) Dennis Rotter (right lane) vs Bill Naves - 'Shooting Star' (left lane)

(RIGHT) Chuck Loftin - 'Motivation' (right lane) vs Michael Tabacco - 'Pandemic' (left lane)

Eliminations - Round One - "C" Field

Nick Johnson - 'Razzle Dazzle' (right lane) vs
Alex Barker - 'Back in Black' (left lane)

(LEFT) Nick Johnson - 'Razzle Dazzle' (right lane) vs Alex Barker - 'Back in Black' (left lane)

(RIGHT) Daniel Butherus - 'Rat-A-Tude' (right lane) vs Jordan Ballew - 'Ballew Thunder' (left lane)

(LEFT) Jade Cook - 'Nemesis'

(RIGHT) Chris Schneider - 'Brutus'

Eliminations - Round One - "D" Field

Wayne Hofmann - 'China Syndrome' (near lane) vs
Mike Buchanan - 'Hombre' (far lane)

(LEFT) Wayne Hofmann - 'China Syndrome' (near lane) vs Mike Buchanan - 'Hombre' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Chance Biffle - 'Bad Intentions'

Justin Herbst - 'The Executioner'

Eliminations - Semi-Finals - "A" Field

Kirk Williams - '200 Proof' (near lane) vs
Lance Van Hauen - 'Van Hauen Bros.' (far lane)

(LEFT) Kirk Williams - '200 Proof' (near lane) vs Lance Van Hauen - 'Van Hauen Bros.' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Ronnie Young - 'Blue Max'

Eliminations - Semi-Finals - "B" Field

Chuck Loftin - 'Motivation' (near lane) vs
Tom Furches - 'Made in America' (far lane)

(LEFT) Chuck Loftin - 'Motivation' (near lane) vs Tom Furches - 'Made in America' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Bill Naves - 'Shooting Star' (near lane) vs Levi Keenan - 'Illinois Thunder' (far lane)

Eliminations - Semi-Finals - "C" Field

Nick Johnson - 'Razzle Dazzle' (near lane) vs
Jade Cook - 'Nemesis' (far lane)

(LEFT) Nick Johnson - 'Razzle Dazzle' (near lane) vs Jade Cook - 'Nemesis' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Daniel Butherus - 'Rat-A-Tude' (near lane) vs Chris Schneiuder - 'Brutus' (far lane)

Eliminations - Semi-Finals - "D" Field

Chance Biffle - 'Bad Intentions' (near lane) vs
Nick Poloson - 'Bucket List' (far lane)

(LEFT) Chance Biffle - 'Bad Intentions' (near lane) vs Nick Poloson - 'Bucket List' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Danny Mann - 'Pony Up' (near lane) vs Mike Buchanan - 'Hombre' (far lane)

Eliminations - Finals - "A-D" Fields

Chris Schneider - 'Brutus'

Mike Buchanan - 'Hombre' (near lane) vs Nick Poloson - 'Bucket List' (far lane)

Tom Furches - 'Made in America' (near lane) vs Bill Naves - 'Shooting Star' (far lane)

Ronnie Young - 'Blue Max' (near lane) vs Kirk Williams - '200 Proof' (far lane)

The latest update as of September 8, 2022

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Mo-Kan Dragway

Saturday Qualifying - Session Three (FINAL)

Daniel Butherus - 'Rat-A-Tude' (near lane) vs
Jade Cook - 'Nemesis' (far lane)

(LEFT) Daniel Butherus - 'Rat-A-Tude' (near lane) vs Jade Cook - 'Nemesis' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Daniel Butherus - 'Rat-A-Tude'

(LEFT) Kirk Williams - '200 Proof'

(RIGHT) Alex Barker - 'Back in Black'

(LEFT) Shane Blanton - 'Bad Company'

(RIGHT) Levi Keenan - 'Illinois Thunder'

(LEFT) Ronny Young - 'Blue Max'

(RIGHT) Chuck Loftin - 'Motivation'

(LEFT) Dennis Rotter

(RIGHT) Chance Biffle - 'Bad Intentions'

(LEFT) Kris Battey - 'Batmobile' (near lane) vs Danny Mann - 'Pony Up' (far lane)

The latest update as of September 4, 2022

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Mo-Kan Dragway

Friday evening saw the full complement of cars out for the second qualifying session, and with cooler track and air temps, the performances picked up considerably. We'll fill in the numbers later, but at the end of the session, Ronny Young in the famed "Blue Max" sat at the top of the ladder with a very strong 3.795 -209.21, outpacing the "usual suspects", Kirk Williams and Jeff Cameron.

Friday Qualifying - Session Two

Wayne Hofmann - 'China Syndrome' (near lane) vs
Don Knoblauch - 'Atomic Punk' (far lane)

(LEFT) Wayne Hofmann - 'China Syndrome' (near lane) vs Don Knoblauch - 'Atomic Punk' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Michael Tobacco - 'Pandemic' (near lane) vs Randy Meuller - 'Crazy Randy' (far lane)

Bill Naves - 'Shooting Star' (near lane) vs
Tony Arcuri - 'Firefighter' (far lane)

(LEFT) Bill Naves - 'Shooting Star' (near lane) vs Tony Arcuri - 'Firefighter' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Shayne Lawson - 'Man O' War' (near lane) vs Lance Van Hauen - 'Van Hauen Bros.' (far lane)

(LEFT) Bob Alberty Jr. - 'Thunderin' Okie'

(RIGHT) Dennis Rotter

(LEFT) Game-X-Change Jet Dragsters

(RIGHT) Nick Johnson - 'Razzle Dazzle' (near lane) vs Aaron Morrow - 'Nitro Relapse' (far lane)

Steve Timoszyk - 'Detroit Tiger' (near lane) vs
Chris Schneider - 'Brutus' (far lane)

(LEFT) Steve Timoszyk - 'Detroit Tiger' (near lane) vs Chris Schneider - 'Brutus' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Jade Cook - 'Nemesis' (near lane) vs Don Knoblauch - 'Atomic Punk' (far lane)

(LEFT) Alex Barker - 'Back in Black'

(RIGHT) Levi Keenan - 'Illinois Thunder' (near lane) vs Steve Vang - 'Wicked Weekender' (far lane)

(LEFT) Back-Up Girls

(RIGHT) Clay Cunningham - 'Still Crazy' (near lane) vs Tom Furches - 'Made in America' (far lane)

Smiley Cordero - 'Maximum Overdrive' (near lane)
vs Mike Buchanan - 'Hombre' (far lane)

(LEFT) Smiley Cordero - 'Maximum Overdrive' (near lane) vs Mike Buchanan - 'Hombre' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Kris Battey - 'Batmobile'

(LEFT) Tony Arcuri - 'Firefighter'

(RIGHT) Kirk Williams - '200 Proof'

(LEFT) Dustin Bradford - 'American Dream'

(RIGHT) Jeff Cameron - 'Jake's Speed Shop'

The latest update as of September 3, 2022

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Mo-Kan Dragway

The second to last race of the 2022 FUNNY CAR CHAOS season got underway last night at Asbury MO's Mo-Kan Dragway. Two qualifying sessions were held during the evening, leading up to the final session this afternoon, then into eliminations this evening. We hope to have photos from today's action available tomorrow, but it all depends on how much energy our ever-intrepid correspondent and ace lensman "BIG" Bob Snyder has left before he starts the long drive back to his homebase in Phoenix. Here's the first qualifying session photos, with the second session to follow later today.

Friday Qualifying - Session One

Steve Vang - 'Wicked Weekender' (near lane) vs
Nick Johnson - 'Razzle Dazzle' (far lane)

(LEFT) Steve Vang - 'Wicked Weekender' (near lane) vs Nick Johnson - 'Razzle Dazzle' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Chris Schneider - 'Brutus' (near lane) vs Levi Kennan - 'Illinois Thunder' (far lane)

Kirk Williams - '200 Proof' (near lane) vs
Chuck Loftin - 'Motivation' (far lane)

(LEFT) Kirk Williams - '200 Proof' (near lane) vs Chuck Loftin - 'Motivation' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Daniel Butherus 'Rat-A-Tude' - (near lane) vs Alex Barker - 'Back in Black' (far lane)

Jordan Ballew - 'Ballew Thunder' (near lane) vs
Aaron Morrow - 'Nitro Relapse' (far lane)

(LEFT) Jordan Ballew - 'Ballew Thunder' (near lane) vs Aaron Morrow - 'Nitro Relapse' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Anthony Whitfield - 'Mighty Mouse' (near lane) vs Clay Cunningham - 'Still Crazy' (far lane)

(LEFT) Ronny Young - 'Blue Max'

(RIGHT) Tom Furches - 'Made in America' (near lane) vs Ronny Young - 'Blue Max' (far lane)

Justin Herbst - 'The Executioner' (near lane) vs
Smiley Cordero - 'Maximum Overdrive' (far lane)

(LEFT) Justin Herbst - 'The Executioner' (near lane) vs Smiley Cordero - 'Maximum Overdrive' (far lane)

(RIGHT) Nick Poloson - 'Bucket List'

(LEFT) Steve Timoszyk - 'Detroit Tiger'

(RIGHT) Jim Chase - 'Wicked Quick' (near lane) vs Mike Buchanan - 'Hombre' (far lane)

The latest update as of September 2, 2022

68th annual "Big GO!"

The first qualifying session for Top Alcohol Funny Car is underway and the first car down the track set a strong pace with a 5.595 - 261.17, as Chip Beverett made his second national event appearance of the season. To show how strong that opening shot was, none of the first four pairs (Beverett was on a solo) were able to better the e.t., despite some strong low 5.60 passes by those racers. Top Speed - so far - and we're very early in this event, is Jim Whiteley's 265.48. More, much more, to come. Stay tuned!

Stop the presses! Kyle Smith just blew Beverett's pass out of the water, blasting into the 5.40's with a very strong 5.492 - 259.71 to show everyone that they've come to Indy to run with the biggest dogs. More to come I'm sure, as Sean Bellemeur is coming to the starting line as this is being written. Hang on! Nope, it didn't happen as the "Killer B's" car shook the tires early, while Bob McCosh put down a solid 5.539 - 265.94 (new Top Speed) to move into the #2 spot on the ladder.

The final pair of the session featured D.J. Cox and Shane Westerfield, #3 and #1 respectively in the points standings, and Cox crossed the finish line first, matching McCosh's 5.539, but this time paired with another new Top Speed of 266.11 mph. That wrapped up the first round of TAFC qualifying, with Kyle Smith on top at 5.492, and Sean Bellemeur on the bump spot at 10.746. With 17 cars making the session, and ten of them in the 5.60's or better, it's already looking like it's going to be a tough field to qualify for.

Top Alcohol Dragster followed the FC's, with a very strong solo for Hunter Green, son of Nitro Funny Car racer Chad Green. His 5.302 - 269.35, in a Randy Meyer "rent-a-car", set the bar fairly high for the 20 or so cars waiting in the staging lanes to shoot for. We've now seen six pairs of dragsters go down the track.... but not quite. Jared Dreher was unable to start his A/Fuel car, and Aaron Cooper was DQ'd in the staging lanes for fuel that was too cold. Too cold? Yes, for the 2022 season, NHRA has mandated a minimum temperature of 50 (F), up substantially from the 40 degrees previously allowed. That change has caught out a few racers already this year, but it's put the Cooper team under some pressure to put a number on the scoreboard with just two more chances to qualify.

The session concluded with Matt Cummings in the McPhillips Family car on top at 5.268 - 270.59, followed closely by Mike Coughlin, at 5.292, and Shawn Cowie, with the best blown pass of 5.294 - 276.52, putting him in the #3 spot on the ladder. With a few cars smoking or shaking the tires, the bump spot sits at a rather anemic 8.24 (Jasmine Salinas), but it's certainly going to drop into the mid 5's in the second session this afternoon.

U.S. Nationals Top Alcohol - 2nd session

Things got a bunch quicker and faster the second time around for the Funny Cars and Dragsters. On the fender flopper side, the bump spot dropped from Sean Bellemeur's first session 10.746 to a more respectable 6.704, but the #15 qualifier, Brian Gawlik has already put down a 5.669 - 259.61 pass. Most of the under-achievers, with the exception of Chris Foster (8.806), got healthy in the second go-round, as nine cars ran 5.59 or better, with Kyle Smith's first session 5.492 still leading the field and the only car in the 40's.

The dragsters saw some major improvements too, as the 8.247 bubble was quickly erased with the first car down the track. Leading the 21-car session was Jared Dreher and his solid 5.534 - 261.22. The bump spot kept dropping with nearly pair down the track until Karen Stalba made the last change with her #15 qualifying 5.407 - 270.75 pushing Taylor Vetter's earlier 5.415 - 275.51 into the #16 position. The #1 spot stayed with Matt Cummings as he ran just a few hundredths slower than his first session 5.268. In fact, seven out of the top eight drivers held their positions, with Joey Severance forcing his way into that group with a very good 5.299 - 273.55 that moved him up from #8 to #4.

Footnote: Two racers experienced engine problems during the second qualifier, with Funny Car driver Brian Gawlik blowing it up BIG at the conclusion of a 5.701 - 231.04 run, and blown alky dragster racer Shawn Cowie losing another engine (he's had a rash of that lately) at the 1000' mark, slowing him to a 5.468 - 218.19 clocking. Fortunately, veryone has until tomorrow morning's final qualifying session to repair/replace the broken parts.

The latest update as of August 28, 2022

Safety Safari never Sleeps

There's always some interesting information on the NHRAracer.com website (a sub-site of the main NHRA page), but the past week has been full of "Statement(s) of Action Against Participants", including one bombshell that dropped late on Friday. Here is the full statement from the NHRA, followed by a link to a story on the Maynard Family Racing (Schumacher's team owner) rebuttal.

Tony Schumacher was fined $10,000 for driving a vehicle that had two disabled safety systems, and an additional $10,000 for bypassing a performance restriction device for a total fine of $20,000. In addition, Mr. Schumacher will forfeit 50 championship points. These infractions occurred on Mr. Schumacher’s Top Fuel entry during round 2 of eliminations of the Lucas Oil Nationals event at Brainerd International Raceway in Brainerd, MN. The fine will be dedicated to enhancing the capabilities of the Safety Safari. The fine and the forfeiture of points is appealable.

Here's the link to the story from the Competition Plus website: TONY SCHUMACHER PLANS TO APPEAL. I'm sure this is far from the end of the story and we're sure this will be one of the major topics of conversation going into the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals, which starts with Sportsman Parking TODAY. Yes, it's here already. Stay tuned for more updates.

The latest update as of August 24, 2022

One Wild, Weird Weekend of racing at Brainerd

The 15th of 22 events on the Camping World NHRA Drag Racing Series 2022 schedule was completed on Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway. There were some difficulties getting to the conclusion, as Thursday and Friday were both affected with some serious thunderstorms and heavy rain. Sportsman racers saw their time trials and qualifying cut short on Thursday and when racing started five hours late on Friday, it started with Top Alcohol, then went straight into Top Fuel. By the time the second qualifying session for the fuel cars was finished on Friday afternoon, the track was in great shape and the e.t.'s and speeds reflected that.

The final two qualifying sessions for Top Fuel and Funny Car on Saturday showed mixed results as teams tried to improve their positions, but results were mixed, although the weather was better and the track was still showing lots of grip. Note that Pro Stock, car and motorcycle, were not contested at this event, with just Top Alcohol and Pro Mod to back up the nitro show.

Sunday's eliminations opened with the best atmospheric conditions of the weekend (2400 ft. corrected altitude) and moderate track temps (93 F), and some of the fuel cars took full advantage of it. Notable was Brittany Force's low e.t. of the meet, and nearly top speed, with a great 3.646 - 333.58 on a bye run. And Krista Baldwin set new career bests of 3.817 - 319.52 as her car moved into competitive territory. As the round progressed, the track started warming and the final pair of Top Fuel cars engaged in a pedal-fest with side-by-side 4-second runs for Austin Prock and Billy Torrence.

The majority of the Funny Cars slowed a bit as they saw conditions weren't optimum, but two highlights were provided by (relatively) low-buck teams. The first surprise of the round was long-time competitor Dale "Peanut" Creasy Jr. blasting out a new career best of 3.967, coupled with a huge speed of 327.43 as he gave eventual event winner Bob Tasca III almost all he could handle. The next surprise, after a disastrous time in qualifying (best of 4.119), was second generation flopper pilot Bobby Bode, who took the winlight over Cruz Pedregon, with a great 3.931 - 316.08 that left Pedregon a full car length back at the finish line.

Ninety minutes later, with track 15 degrees warmer, and air 500 ft. worse, the first three pairs of Top Fuel cars could barely get down the track, as all of them smoked the tires at some point in their runs. Most lit the tires earlier, rather than later. Only the final pair of the round, Justin Ashley and Shawn Langdon engaged in a side-by-side 3-second race, with Ashley winning at 3.726 - 330.63 over Langdon's 3.807 - 324.44 effort.

Statement of Action(s) Against Participant(s) - August 22, 2022

The following action has been taken against Chad Head regarding an incident that occurred during the Menards NHRA Nationals Presented by PetArmour held August 12th through August 14th, 2022. As a result of the incident, Head has been fined twelve hundred and fifty dollars ($1,250) for conduct deemed to be out of order which resulted in damage to an NHRA measurement tool. The fine will be dedicated to enhancing the capabilities of the Safety Safari. The fine is appealable.

Four Top Sportsman entries were caught with "pinned fire bottles" during the same event. Their qualifying runs were DQ'd and $1,000 fines issued against each driver. This followed two instances of the same infraction in the same eliminator (Top Sportsman) at the recently completed Denso NHRA Sonoma Nationals. Also on the list of infractions was Jim Campbell, (Jim Dunn Racing driver), who was fined $2500 at Brainerd for "parachutes not properly anchored". This was levied after an incident in the first qualifying of Nitro Funny Car, when both parachutes launched, then detached themselves from the car after crossing the finish line. Thnakfully, due to the very long braking area at Brainerd, Campbell was able to stop the car safely.

Even though all of the above infractions might not have been the fault of the driver, it is the driver that is ultimately responsible for the proper preparation and operation of the race car. To take shortcuts on safety is one of the worst things a driver can do, and can not only endanger the driver, but his/her opponent, crew members, track workers, specators, etc. Hopefully, this rash of fines will be a serious wakeup call to those who think "it can't happen to me".

The latest update as of August 19, 2022

NHRA National News

The 15th race of the NHRA Camping World Series 2022 season started yesterday at Brainerd International Raceway. Despite very gloomy skies, almost a full day of sportsman qualifying was completed before the rains came. This morning dawned with the same cloudy skies, and more rain, but there is a small window of opportunity later today to run a session of Pro and Pro Sportsman (Top Alcohol & Pro Mod) qualifying before the next series of thunderstorms roll in. From there on, the weekend forecast is for much better, and warmer, weather that should allow the race to run to completion on Sunday afternoon.

The weather situation at Brainerd is a stark contrast to the high temps and sunny skies at the last three events on the NHRA national event tour. Sonoma, Seattle and Topeka all featured high air temps and higher track temperatures as the racers struggled at times to maintain traction and keep all the cylinders firing. And at this point in the season - with the final race of the regular (ie. non-countdown) season coming up in two weeks at Indy, good on-track performances are more critical than ever. Almost all of the countdown spots are finalized, other than possible position changes, but there is still one battle looming before the racers complete the Dodge Power Brokers NHRA U.S. Nationals on Labor Day.

The Funny Car category has five racers locked into the countdown portion of the season, with the next four drivers in the standings almost mathematically clinched. The current #10 driver, Jim Campbell, is less than 20 points (one round win) ahead of #11 Chad Green, and only 22 in front of #12 Blake Alexander. Both Green and Alexander can only earn a countdown spot by passing Campbell in the standings. However, only one of them can do it, as neither will be able to catch #9 Tim Wilkerson, unless the wheels totally fall off the Levi, Ray & Shoup car in the final two races of the regular season.

As long as they show up and make the required number of qualifying runs (three at Brainerd and Indy), Jim Campbell will qualify for the countdown based on the Jim Dunn Racing team having attended every national event this season. The extra racers in the countdown in other categories include two in Top Fuel, currently Clay Millican and Austin Prock. In Pro Stock there are five racers that will qualify based on attendance, including three members of the Caudra family: Cristian, Fernando, and Fernando Jr.. In addition, Deric Kramer, currently #12 in the standings, and Chris McGaha, in the #14 spot are also eligible, providing they meet the qualifying attempts rule.

While McGaha and Fernando Caudra have no chance of earning enough points to move into the Top Ten, the other "outsiders" do have mathematical chances to earn a countdown spot based on points, with Fernando Jr. sitting just five points in arrears of the current #10, Bo Butner. Only 25 points behind Butner is Deric Kramer, and 61 back is Cristian Caudra. With the bonus points (1.5 times the normal allotment) available at the U.S. Nationals, there is a good chance that there could be some shuffles at the bottom of the Pro Stock Top Ten. However, barring failing to attend an event, all 15 Pro Stock racers currently eligible for the countdown will be there, with the last one of that group starting the six-race countdown 150 points behind the top qualifier.

As has always been the case in the 15 years that the NHRA has used the Countdown format to decide world championships in the Pro categories, starting the six-race "playoff" season close to the top of the standings, and even more importantly, winning rounds at the first race can be critical to anyone aspiring to be crowned the champion. Starting 100 - or more - points behind the leader and losing in an early round at that first event is likely the end of a racer's chances to win the title, and falling early at the first two races almost certainly seals the deal.

While this week's Lucas Oil NHRA Nationals will not have a major impact on the final composition of the points standings going into the countdown, it will play a serious part in that final determination. Stay tuned for more updates as the weekend progresses.

The latest update as of August 10, 2022

We've got the round by round results from the Eddyville and Kearney races (FUNNY CAR CHAOS) and seen the updated points table for the series. Looks like we'll be busy for the rest of the week filling in the details for all the photos we've posted from those events. With just two races left for the 2022 season, the pressure is squarely on the racers to step up to get into, or stay in, the Top Ten. With the championship bonus payouts going to the top five racers at the end of the season, there's even more to gain by finishing strongly in the last two races. The first of that duet is coming up on Labor Day weekend at Mo-Kan Dragway (Asbury, MO), before the season finale at the Texas Motorplex on October 7 - 8.

That Motorplex event will be the opening act for an incredible TEN days of drag racing and entertainment action at the Texas Motorplex, culminating with the 37th annual NHRA Texas FallNationals. Getting the chance to perform twice in one year on the huge "stage" that the Motorplex affords is going to be another feather in the cap of what has become a very successful alternate sanctioning body (in NHRA-speak).

The FCC crew has updated the latest points standings and created a "Top Ten Drop" graphic (shown below) to illustrate what the standings would be like after each racer "drops" or eliminates their lowest point earning event from their total. If a racer doesn't attend an event, that counts as their drop race. It's a system that works well for what are, for the most part, hobby racers who can't afford to travel to every race on the 8-event calendar. And that's not adding up the cost of parts and fuel consumed along the way.

Funny Car Chaos Top Ten Drop points standings

The latest update as of August 9, 2022

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Kearney Raceway

It wasn't a surprise that not all the cars could make the call for the first round of eliminations, with most of the field running their second race in barely a week. The two racers unable to show were Danny 'Snafu' Smith, who qualifed #14, near the bottom of the "B" field, and Matt Nissen who was unable to repair his "Runnin' Down A Dream" entry and vacated his #18 spot in the "C" field. With only 24 cars entered, that resulted in two first round bye runs in the "C" field. We are starting to work on filling in the details/captions for the photos, but it's going to take a while. Stay tuned!

"A" Field - 1st Round Eliminations

Doug Schneider - 'Milliken Monster' (right lane) vs
Lance Van Hauen - 'Van Hauen Bros. Racing' (left lane)

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"B" Field - 1st Round Eliminations

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"C" Field - 1st Round Eliminations

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"A" Field - 2nd Round Eliminations

Jeff Cameron - 'Jake's Speed Shop' (near lane) vs
Jim Chase - 'Wicked Quick' (far lane)

Kirk Williams - '200 Proof' (near lane) vs
Lance Van Hauen - 'Van Hauen Bros. Racing' (far lane)

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"B" Field - 2nd Round Eliminations

Chris Schneider - 'Brutus' (near lane) vs
David Hill - 'Zeus' (far lane)

Don Knoblauch - 'Atomic Punk' (near lane) vs
Dustin Bradford - 'American Dream' (far lane)

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"C" Field - 2nd Round Eliminations

Jordan Ballew - 'Ballew Thunder' (near lane) vs
Justin Herbst - 'No Chance' (far lane)

Steve Griboski - 'Mile-High Express' (near lane) vs
Mike Buchanan - 'Hombre' (far lane)

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"C" Field - Final Round

Jordan Ballew - 'Ballew Thunder' (near lane) vs
Mike Buchanan - 'Hombre' (far lane)

"B" Field - Final Round

Dustin Bradford - 'American Dream' (near lane) vs
David Hill - 'Zeus' (far lane)

"A" Field - Final Round

Kirk Williams - '200 Proof' (near lane) vs
Jeff Cameron - 'Jake's Speed Shop' (far lane)

The latest update as of August 8, 2022

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Kearney Raceway

We've got all the photos posted from Kearney now, from Friday's first qualifying session, all the way through to the conclusion of eliminations on Saturday night. We've got some of the e.t.'s and a few speeds available, with much more detail to come, and they will be posted, starting tomorrow. As always.... stay tuned!

Saturday - 3rd Qualifying Session

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Kirk Williams - '200 Proof' (near lane) vs
Mike Buchanan - 'Hombre' (far lane)

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The latest update as of August 7, 2022

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Kearney Raceway

Eliminations were completed last night at Kearney Raceway, as the seventh event (sixth points earning) on the Funny Car Chaos 2022 schedule went into the books. Although the turnout of cars was down from last week's 33 at Eddyville, the two dozen floppers in attendance put on quite a show. The "A" field was the quickest since the season opener at the Texas Motorplex, with #8 qualiifer, Shayne Lawson holding down the spot with a very good 4.014 - 187.65 pass. Leading the way, as he has for most of the season was Kirk Williams with another strong performance at 3.881 - 189.87 pass.

Winner of the "A" field was a bit of a surprise, after Williams had dominated the class with four consecutive wins coming into this event. Taking the trophy was Jeff Cameron in the "Jake's Speed Shop" entry, as he took solid hold of the second rung on the championship ladder, and closed the gap on point leader Kirk Williams. Full results, including e.t.'s and speeds will come later as the FCC crew works to fill in all the details after back-to-back race weekends.

The "B" field victory went to David Hill in his first appearance since the season opener, but it wasn't an upset as he qualified at the top of the field with a good 4.074 - 169.49 and earned the win with some solid runs. Rounding out the winner's circle celebrations was Mike Buchanan, as the "Hombre" team took their second win of the season to move within striking distance of the Top Ten.

Congratulations to all the winners and runners-up as they take a well deserved break before their next event, at Asbury, MO's Mo-Kan Dragway on Labor Day weekend. It will be the second to last race of the FCC season and a can't miss race for all of the championship contenders. We'll be posting photos from Friday qualifying at Kearney later today, then follow with eliminations on Tuesday or Wednesday. Stay tuned for all that good stuff.

Friday - 1st Qualifying Session

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Friday - 2nd Qualifying Session

Don Knoblauch - 'Atomic Punk' (near lane) vs
Chuck Loftin - 'Motivation' (far lane)

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David Hill - 'Zeus' (near lane) vs
Dustin Bradford - 'American Dream' (far lane)

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Jordan Ballew - 'Ballew Thunder' (near lane) vs
Steve Vang - 'No Chance' (far lane)

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Doug Schneider - 'Milliken Monster' (near lane) vs
Shayne Lawson - 'Man O' War' (far lane)

Kirk Williams - '200 Proof' (near lane) vs
Kris Battey - 'Batmobile' (far lane)

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Nick Johnson - 'Razzle Dazzle' (near lane) vs
Josh Kreuder - 'Captain America' (far lane)

The latest update as of August 6, 2022

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Kearney Raceway

If it's Friday, it must be time for the next (seventh) event on the 2022 FUNNY CAR CHAOS tour. The traveling cavalcade has moved 375 miles west to Kearney Raceway for the 3rd annual Funny Car Chaos Nationals. There's 26 confirmed cars on the pre-entry list, so tonight's first two qualifying sessions should be great. We hope to have photos available throughout the weekend, but we'll just have to see if our intrepid correspondent is able to find the time and energy to get everything done before he hits the road for home to Phoenix on Sunday morning.

One highlight of this evening's action will be a pair of "off the trailer" callouts - shades of Street Outlaws or No Prep Kings - that will certainly be a feature of the first qualifying session. Stay tuned for reports early Saturday morning.

The latest update as of August 5, 2022

Pit Shots and other photos from FUNNY CAR CHAOS at Eddyville Raceway Park

We've got a fairly large selection of pit shots, enroute to the racetrack pics and some heartwarming pictures of the return of Ken(dall) Singleton to the track after his horrific fire at the season opening event at the Texas Motorplex on March 25th. It's been a long, and very hard, road to recovery for Ken and his entire family, but he's back doing what he loves to do: being at the drag strip. This time he's assisting Shayne Lawson and the "Man O' War" on their tuneup.

The link to an interview with Ken, conducted by Thomas Pope is on the Competition Plus website.

Debra Mellow Williams holding crocheted blanket

Kirk Williams (left) with Ken and Jo Singleton

Debra Mellow Williams (left) Jo Singleton (right)

Ken Singleton (left) Kirk Williams (right)

(LEFT) Showing us what's under the body of her "Nemesis" Funny Car is driver Jade Cook.

(RIGHT) Warming up his hot rod before the first qualifying session is .....

Brutus Funny Car on display in Oskaloosa

On Thursday evening, the Troxel & Schneider Mustang-bodied "Brutus" Funny Car was on display at the Sweet Corn Serenade in downtown Oskaloosa.

The latest update as of August 4, 2022

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Eddyville Raceway Park

Following Friday's two qualifying sessions for the Funny Cars, the fields were set in the final session, run on Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, we don't have any photos from that session, but there were a few changes from Friday's list. Biggest of those was the #7 qualifying Dave Gallegos in his "Nitro Clown" entry. Following a solid 4.080 - 175.17 pass, the chutes failed and he took a very long ride into the corn field at the end of the track. Suffice to say, the car wasn't able to show for eliminations, and that's putting it mildly, as you can see from the photos below.

the remains of Dave Gallegos' 'Nitro Clown'

As you can clearly see, the remains of the car will most likely never see another dragstrip. The body was trashed to the point that it appears it was being cut up for souvenirs, the chassis was pretzeled, but the running gear will probably resurface in a new car. At least we hope so for Dave and his hard-working crew. Especially the guy in the center photo.

From the photos that our friendly correspondent "BIG" Bob Snyder provided (while we wait for the results to be posted), it appears that at least two other cars came up lame and were unable to make the first round of eliminations. They included Vic Tiffin in the Tiffin & Hess "Gold Digger" and Chance Biffle in the "Bad Intentions" entry.

On the good news side, Jeff Cameron catapulted from the #27 position all the way up to #3, and first round lane choice in the "A" field in the final qualifier with a great 3.942 - 190.68 pass. Also jumping into the "A" show was Mike Newkirk, improving from his Friday best of 4.226, to a #4 qualifying 4.012 - 184.35. When the fields were set, after subtracting broken cars, the "C" group was anchored by #28 Kris Battey, with the remaining cars slotted into a "D" Field Shootout.

"A" Field - 1st Round Eliminations

Kirk Williams - '200 Proof' (right lane) vs
Smiley Cordero - 'Maximum Overdrive' (left lane)

Starting eliminations was the FCC points leader, Kirk Williams (right lane) as he powered past the wheelstanding "Maximum Overdrive" entry of Smiley Cordero to move into the semi-finals. Williams stayed in the 3.70-zone, after qualifying #1 at 3.715 - 204.64, and turned on the winlight with a very consistent 3.72 - 205.95 to easily cover Cordero's game effort of 4.0 at 181.6 (incomplete details available from the Facebook video of the run).

The next pair saw Clay Cunningham in the "Still Crazy" car laying down a hard burnout in the far lane (LEFT photo). His opponent, Mike Newkirk (RIGHT photo), appears to be on his way to an uncontested win as Cunningham isn't anywhere in the picture.

Lance Van Hauen - 'Van Hauen Bros. Racing'

More burnout shots, as Lance Van Hauen punished the tires on his NHRA-legal Top Alky car (LEFT photo), while #2 qualifier (at 3.835 - 187.59), Jim Chase lit 'em up in his "Wicked Quick" '57 Chevy (RIGHT photo).

Jim Chase - 'Wicked Quick' (right lane) vs
Lance Van Hauen - 'Van Hauen Bros. Racing' (left lane)

On the launch it was Chase out of the gate first (right lane), and he held it all the way to the finish line as Van Hauen (left lane) was unable to chase him down.

"B" Field - 1st Round Eliminations

Chris Schneider - 'Brutus' (right lane) vs
Shayne Lawson - 'Man O' War' (left lane)

After a hard burnout in the Mustang-bodied "Brutus" (LEFT photo), the Troxel & Schneider entry, with Chris Schneider at the wheel, they were able to hold off the hard charge of opponent Shayne Lawson in the later model Mustang-bodied "Man O' War" (RIGHT photo).

Dustin Bradford - 'American Dream' (right lane) vs
Nick Johnson - 'Razzle Dazzle' (left lane)

Tim Cullinan - 'Irish Car Bomb' (right lane) vs
Chuck Loftin - 'Motivation' (left lane)

(LEFT) The next pair saw an instant win for Dustin Bradford in the "American Dream" (right lane), as Nick Johnson turned on the redlight in the "Razzle Dazzle" in the left lane.

(RIGHT) Making quite an impact in his first appearance on the Funny Car Chaos tour, longtime Nostalgia Top Fuel racer Tim Cullinan (right lane) in his Camaro-bodied "Irish Car Bomb" took on series regular Chuck Loftin in his "Motivation" Mustang in the left lane. Despite running a slower e.t of 4.32 - 159.69, Cullinan took the win as Loftin's much better 3.87 - 161.75 (despite an early shutoff), was simply too quick for the indexed "B" field. With the top qualifying e.t. being a 4.159, the quickest run allowed was 3.959, and Loftin's great performance was well under that mark.

(LEFT) Another newcomer to the circuit, Neil Girot in his flat black "Twist 'n Shout" entry, shown here stopping after his burnout.

(RIGHT) It looks like Girot wasn't able to provide any opposition to Steve Timoszyk and his "Detroit Tiger" Monza, as Timoszyk appeared to be running by himself in this shot. Note the heavy tire shake as he starts heading towards the guardrail just past the 60' mark.

"C" Field - 1st Round Eliminations

(LEFT) Making his first appearance of the season in a new "Rat-A-Tude" entry, with a different (turbocharged) combination, long-time FCC regular Daniel Butherus laid down a hard burnout to prep the car for his first race of the year.

(RIGHT) Nearly buried in the smoke from Butherus' burnout, Wayne Hofmann lit up the tires in the Omni-bodied "China Syndrome", paying homage to one of the names his father Al Hofmann fielded in NHRA Funny Car action in the 1980's.

Wayne Hofmann - 'China Syndrome' (right lane) vs
Daniel Butherus - 'RatATude' (left lane)

(LEFT) It's not hard to guess who won this round, as Wayne Hofmann (right lane) left the line strongly, while opponent Daniel Butherus was busy putting on a show in the left lane, with the tires smoking hard and the front wheels in the air on the launch.

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"D" Field - 1st Round Shootout

The left photo shows the finalists in the "Best Dressed Back-Up Girl" contest, and on the right, holding up the championship belt is the winner, Dave "Nitro Clown" Gallegos' daughter.

"A" Field - 2nd Round Eliminations

Kirk Williams - '200 Proof' (near lane) vs
Mike Newkirk - 'Disturbed' (far lane)

(LEFT) The first pair of the semi-final round saw Jeff Cameron (near lane) wheel the "Jake's Speed Shop" entry to a slight upset win over opponenet Jim Chase (far lane) as the "Wicked Quick" Chevy wasn't quite quick enough to overcome Cameron's holeshot.

(RIGHT) In a great matchup of full-on Top Alcohol floppers, Kirk Williams (near lane) overcame an early lead by opponent Mike Newkirk (far lane) and lit up the scoreboard with a great 3.70 - 206.52, for a new low e.t. and top speed of the meet. Newkirk's good try fell short as he stopped the clocks at 3.87 - 190.03, for his best run of the weekend.

"B" Field - 2nd Round Eliminations

Steve Timoszyk - 'Detroit Tiger' (near lane) vs
Tim Cullinan - 'Irish Car Bomb' (far lane)

Chris Schneider - 'Brutus' (near lane) vs
Dustin Bradford - 'American Dream' (far lane)

(LEFT) Keeping up the pace, Tim Cullinan (far lane) took another winlight and advanced to the final round, as opponent Steve Timoszyk kept it close until the 330' mark, before falling back and coasting across the finish line. Cullinan's 4.21 - 164.84 was his best of the weekend as the team gradually crept up on the tuneup.

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"C" Field - 2nd Round Eliminations

Wayne Hofmann - 'China Syndrome' (near lane) vs
Justin Herbst - 'Scorpion' (far lane)

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Final Round Eliminations

Jade Cook - 'Nemesis' (near lane) vs
Michael Tobacco - 'Pandemic' (far lane)

Wayne Hoffman - 'China Syndrome' (near lane) vs
Monty Stotz - 'Blue Thunder' (far lane)

Tim Cullinan - 'Irish Car Bomb' (near lane) vs
Chris Schneider - 'Brutus' (far lane)

It was a close race off the starting line, with Chris Schneider (far lane), leaving first and holding the early lead in the "Brutus", while Tim Cullinan (near lane) had to chase him down him in the "Irish Car Bomb" Camaro. At the stripe it was Cullinan lighting up the scoreboards with a winning 4.12 - 174.22 to cover Schneider's close 4.17 - 173.68 effort. Quite a debut performance for the Illinois team.

The final race of the night featured the low qualifier Kirk Williams (near lane) facing the #3 car Jeff Cameron (far lane), and Williams completed his perfect weekend with an ultra-consistent 3.71 - 205.57 to take the trophy, the cash, and increase his points lead in the championship chase. Unfortunately for Cameron, he lost the race three different ways, as he redlighted, then crossed the centerline, before shutting off and coasting across the finish line with no time recorded.

The latest update as of August 1, 2022

FUNNY CAR CHAOS - Eddyville Raceway Park

After taking a six-week break since the last event at Cordova Dragway, the FUNNY CAR CHAOS gang got back in action over the weekend at Eddyville Raceway Park. A full contingent of cars - 33 in all - including some new faces and old faces in new cars made for a great weekend of racing. There was some added - and unplanned and decidedly unwelcome - excitement as not one, but two, cars went off the end of the track (no chutes) and deep into the 8-ft high corn field. Luckily there were no physical injuries but Dave Gallegos' "Nitro Clown" AA/FC is history.

We've got the first qualifying session from Friday posted below, with the balance of qualifying and eliminations to come over the next few days.

Friday - 1st Qualifying Session